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Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution
Book
The world knows Madame Tussaud as a wax artist extraordinaire . . . but who was this woman who...
Harry's LapTimer Petrolhead
Sports and Navigation
App
Harry's LapTimer is the advanced tool for car enthusiast. It records all types of sensor data...
Harry's LapTimer Rookie
Sports and Navigation
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Harry's LapTimer is the advanced tool for car enthusiast. It records all types of sensor data...
Harry's LapTimer Grand Prix
Sports and Navigation
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Harry's LapTimer is the advanced tool for car enthusiast. It records all types of sensor data...
Lottie disney bookworm (1056 KP) rated Scarlet Princess in Books
Aug 30, 2021
Death was a hefty price to pay for vodka.
I mean with an opening line like that you know it’s going to be a great book right?!
Regular readers will know I’m a bit of an ElBin fangirl and often devour their books in 1 or 2 days. Scarlet Princess was no exception: I kept my kids fed and held down my full-time job for the day but the rest of the time was spent reading this amazing return into the Lochlann world.
Scarlet Princess is the first in the Lochlann Feuds series which is based approximately 20 years after Autumn’s Reign, the final in the Lochlann Treaty series. However, you don’t have to read the Lochlann Treaty in order to read Scarlet Princess: the world building, plot and characters shine just as brightly for this to be a standalone novel.
“It’s a lotus flower. They’re rare, complex flowers. Difficult to keep alive.”
“That doesn’t sound like anyone I know”
Scarlet Princess introduces us to Rowan, the Princess of Lochlann and her cousin Davin, whom we briefly met in the Lochlann Treaty. The cousins give the impression that they either go looking for trouble, or trouble just finds them! Therefore, it shouldn’t be so surprising that when we meet them, Rowan and Davin are just about to find themselves imprisoned in the neighbouring kingdom of Socair.
Sadly, Socair and Lochlann don’t have the friendliest history so getting home will be no easy feat for the cousins, if they can escape death first.
“Amicable and accommodating, Princess. I wonder if you are capable of either.“
Rowan is, without a doubt, a product of her parents: with her fiery red curls and equally fiery attitude it is easy for us to assume that Rowan takes after her father but then you find yourself internally shouting (or externally- no judgement) “why did you do that?!” and suddenly you see her mother's emotional, impulsive nature.
The smart mouth and the booziness? Well that’s just what makes Rowan, Rowan! And we love her for it!
“Am I boring you Princess Rowan?” He sighed.
“Always”
As Rowan’s journey continues though we see that she has been deeply affected by her parents’ quest for love. Our princess is quite closed off to love and is happy for a marriage to be arranged for her. At her young age Rowan equates love with warring kingdoms, losing children, losing husbands: ultimately, she equates love with loss.
Maybe that is why Rowan hides behind a mask of sarcasm and glib comments, seldom ever facing the reality of her predicament until it is too late.
I didn’t want the kind of love that could break you.
Behind her sarcasm though it is clear Rowan cares deeply about issues such as poverty and equality. She is forced to see that her life is very different in Lochlann, where villagers are not suffering and are looked after by their leaders; women are not seen as quiet mice who need protecting as they are in Socair. Maybe, just maybe, her life in Lochlann wasn’t as bad as she thought? But will Rowan ever see Lochlann again?
Besides, I never had been good at making the smart choice.
The cast of characters surrounding Rowan are equally as amazing as our princess. Davin is a ladies’ man just like his father, Iiro is authoritative one minute but then casually tortures his brother sensibilities the next and Mila is a great friend who comes swooping into Rowan’s life – there is definitely more to Mila than meets the eye though.
Rowan’s escort through Socair and the poor soul on the other end of most of her sarcasm is Lord Theodore, her captor and the heir to the Elk clan. Theo is fair where Rowan is fiery; stoic where she is scandalous and the tension between them …. oof it’s enough to make you swoon!
“You know when something just catches your attention and you can’t explain it?“
I loved revisiting Lochlann only to be immersed in the Kingdom of Socair: the mysterious enemy lurking behind the mountain. The 9 clans created a whole new dynamic from the previous books and the plot arc could have easily got lost within all the clan politics but it flowed beautifully.
All I will say is that I really shouldn’t trust Robin and Elle with happy endings – they will always rip it away with a few chapters to go. These two are the Queens of cliff-hangers!
Grab your copy of Scarlet Princess on August 27th 2021. Devour it in one day and then join me anxiously anticipating the sequel, Tarnished Crown in November 2021.
I mean with an opening line like that you know it’s going to be a great book right?!
Regular readers will know I’m a bit of an ElBin fangirl and often devour their books in 1 or 2 days. Scarlet Princess was no exception: I kept my kids fed and held down my full-time job for the day but the rest of the time was spent reading this amazing return into the Lochlann world.
Scarlet Princess is the first in the Lochlann Feuds series which is based approximately 20 years after Autumn’s Reign, the final in the Lochlann Treaty series. However, you don’t have to read the Lochlann Treaty in order to read Scarlet Princess: the world building, plot and characters shine just as brightly for this to be a standalone novel.
“It’s a lotus flower. They’re rare, complex flowers. Difficult to keep alive.”
“That doesn’t sound like anyone I know”
Scarlet Princess introduces us to Rowan, the Princess of Lochlann and her cousin Davin, whom we briefly met in the Lochlann Treaty. The cousins give the impression that they either go looking for trouble, or trouble just finds them! Therefore, it shouldn’t be so surprising that when we meet them, Rowan and Davin are just about to find themselves imprisoned in the neighbouring kingdom of Socair.
Sadly, Socair and Lochlann don’t have the friendliest history so getting home will be no easy feat for the cousins, if they can escape death first.
“Amicable and accommodating, Princess. I wonder if you are capable of either.“
Rowan is, without a doubt, a product of her parents: with her fiery red curls and equally fiery attitude it is easy for us to assume that Rowan takes after her father but then you find yourself internally shouting (or externally- no judgement) “why did you do that?!” and suddenly you see her mother's emotional, impulsive nature.
The smart mouth and the booziness? Well that’s just what makes Rowan, Rowan! And we love her for it!
“Am I boring you Princess Rowan?” He sighed.
“Always”
As Rowan’s journey continues though we see that she has been deeply affected by her parents’ quest for love. Our princess is quite closed off to love and is happy for a marriage to be arranged for her. At her young age Rowan equates love with warring kingdoms, losing children, losing husbands: ultimately, she equates love with loss.
Maybe that is why Rowan hides behind a mask of sarcasm and glib comments, seldom ever facing the reality of her predicament until it is too late.
I didn’t want the kind of love that could break you.
Behind her sarcasm though it is clear Rowan cares deeply about issues such as poverty and equality. She is forced to see that her life is very different in Lochlann, where villagers are not suffering and are looked after by their leaders; women are not seen as quiet mice who need protecting as they are in Socair. Maybe, just maybe, her life in Lochlann wasn’t as bad as she thought? But will Rowan ever see Lochlann again?
Besides, I never had been good at making the smart choice.
The cast of characters surrounding Rowan are equally as amazing as our princess. Davin is a ladies’ man just like his father, Iiro is authoritative one minute but then casually tortures his brother sensibilities the next and Mila is a great friend who comes swooping into Rowan’s life – there is definitely more to Mila than meets the eye though.
Rowan’s escort through Socair and the poor soul on the other end of most of her sarcasm is Lord Theodore, her captor and the heir to the Elk clan. Theo is fair where Rowan is fiery; stoic where she is scandalous and the tension between them …. oof it’s enough to make you swoon!
“You know when something just catches your attention and you can’t explain it?“
I loved revisiting Lochlann only to be immersed in the Kingdom of Socair: the mysterious enemy lurking behind the mountain. The 9 clans created a whole new dynamic from the previous books and the plot arc could have easily got lost within all the clan politics but it flowed beautifully.
All I will say is that I really shouldn’t trust Robin and Elle with happy endings – they will always rip it away with a few chapters to go. These two are the Queens of cliff-hangers!
Grab your copy of Scarlet Princess on August 27th 2021. Devour it in one day and then join me anxiously anticipating the sequel, Tarnished Crown in November 2021.
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Wyze Cam Outdoor Starter Bundle in Tech
Sep 16, 2021
Features like motion detection, night vision, 8x digital zoom, up to 6 months rechargeable battery life and 14 day rolling Cloud storage. (2 more)
Easy setup for physical product.
Lets you easily share your camera with family.
Software setup can be pretty tricky, especially for those not too tech-savvy. (1 more)
Too easily removed if intended for security.
Plenty of Features, Kind of Tricky Setup
The Wyze Cam Outdoor Starter Bundle is a package you can purchase for a wireless camera meant for outdoor use. The camera is equipped with IP65 weather resistance, PIR motion detection, free rolling 14 day Cloud storage, 1080P full HD live stream, night vision, 8x digital zoom, time-lapse, and up to 6 month rechargeable battery life. Wyze has some wired indoor cameras that start at $29.99 each but I wanted wireless ones for less hassle on installation since I'd probably be doing it myself. The Wyze Cam Outdoor Starter Bundle is listed for $49.99 on their website. That comes with (1) Wyze Cam Outdoor camera, (1) Base Station, (1) 32GB microSDHC card, (1) power adapter, (1), network cable, (1) USB cable, a quick start guide, and a screw assembly set containing (2) screws and (2) plastic anchors.
I had been wanting to get some cameras for the house for a long time. I had seen these before but I wanted to make sure if I bought some to put outside, that they were meant for outside and wouldn't get messed up because of heat or rain. Also these came highly recommended from family that have them and use them as well. Plus I was able to score them on a deal from Home Depot's deal of the day at the time as a package with an extra camera included and an Amazon Echo Show.
So this is my first venture into getting a wireless camera for security or monitoring purposes and I didn't really know what to expect. I had gotten my parents a really cheap doorbell camera once on a Black Friday deal from Wal-Mart a couple years back and thought that worked pretty well for the price I paid, but nothing other than that. I have to say that these cameras are pretty cool. You have to download the Wyze app to be able to use them so you do need a smart phone and setting them up can be a little tricky at first. I didn't run into any problems but I can see how most people could run into some very easily. I just had to charge them first to make sure they were ready to go, which didn't take that long either. I think it was about an hour or two for each of them. The only thing that was a little annoying was the extra camera came with an extra USB cord but not another power adapter so had to wait to charge the other one instead of being able to charge at the same time. The installation was pretty easy too. Of course I help from my brother who came over to do it for me but he got both setup in less than 30 minutes.
So the base station that comes with the bundle is able to connect up to 4 cameras. It needs to stay near your wireless router and actually needs to be plugged into it with the provided network cable. For some reason it's also only compatible with the 2.4G WI-FI signal provided from the router, and you have to have your phone on the same WI-FI bandwidth during setup or it won't let you set it up. The range for them seems pretty good though. I have a decent size house and yard and put one in the farthest part of my backyard and didn't have any problems with connecting to it. The app is a little complicated too but once you have everything setup it's not too bad.
On the home tab it will show you your base station and what cameras you have connected and you can name the base station in case you have more than one. You can name the cameras connected as well. I just called mine front yard and backyard. If you click on a camera it will show you what quality you have it set on auto, HD, SD, or 360P. It has a setting for infrared to be either on/off or auto and shows you battery life percent. It has a couple of tabs for features like sound on/off, record, speak, take photo and more. Under the more tab it has features like time lapse, scheduled recording, album, motion tagging, siren and turn off. You can also easily turn them off from the home tab where it shows you the word "on" in a circle, the name of the camera and the battery percentage too. There's an events tab where it will show you a 12 second video of whatever triggered the motion sensor. If you click on it, you can watch it, listen to the sound by clicking on sound, look at the livestream of the camera or delete the video. I've noticed that the motion detection doesn't capture everything but it does catch the majority of things most of the time.
There's a monitoring service that you can purchase along with the cameras. I chose not to because I didn't do any research into what it does or what they provide for you so sorry if you wanted more info on that. There's a shop tab to purchase more of their products and an account tab for the more important things on the app. You can do a lot of things on the account tab like setup a password or two-step verification under the security tab, share your camera with family members under the sharing tab, and more.
Pro:
Features like motion detection, night vision, 8x digital zoom, up to 6 months rechargeable battery life and 14 day rolling Cloud storage.
Easy setup for physical product
Lets you easily share your camera with family
Con:
Software setup can be pretty tricky, especially for those not too tech-savvy
Too easily removed if intended for security
Rating: 8/10
Conclusion:
I have to say these cameras are definitely worth the money to get them. The motion detection is pretty decent and the night vision is really good as well as the zoom. I have been pretty pleased with how they work and have encountered very little issues with them. My parents got some at the same time, so I helped them with setup and everything as well. They have a much bigger home and had some issues with range with where they wanted to put them. One camera has had some issues with connectivity and battery usage. Not sure if it's because it gets more traffic for the motion detection or if defective. Also sometimes a strange alarm sound comes out in recordings as well as static instead of audio. I haven't researched or reached out to Wyze about it yet. That being said, I would still recommend them to people wanting to get some wireless cameras setup at their home but only if they have really good WI-FI and are tech-savvy. I give the Wyze Cam Outdoor Starter Bundle an 8/10.
I had been wanting to get some cameras for the house for a long time. I had seen these before but I wanted to make sure if I bought some to put outside, that they were meant for outside and wouldn't get messed up because of heat or rain. Also these came highly recommended from family that have them and use them as well. Plus I was able to score them on a deal from Home Depot's deal of the day at the time as a package with an extra camera included and an Amazon Echo Show.
So this is my first venture into getting a wireless camera for security or monitoring purposes and I didn't really know what to expect. I had gotten my parents a really cheap doorbell camera once on a Black Friday deal from Wal-Mart a couple years back and thought that worked pretty well for the price I paid, but nothing other than that. I have to say that these cameras are pretty cool. You have to download the Wyze app to be able to use them so you do need a smart phone and setting them up can be a little tricky at first. I didn't run into any problems but I can see how most people could run into some very easily. I just had to charge them first to make sure they were ready to go, which didn't take that long either. I think it was about an hour or two for each of them. The only thing that was a little annoying was the extra camera came with an extra USB cord but not another power adapter so had to wait to charge the other one instead of being able to charge at the same time. The installation was pretty easy too. Of course I help from my brother who came over to do it for me but he got both setup in less than 30 minutes.
So the base station that comes with the bundle is able to connect up to 4 cameras. It needs to stay near your wireless router and actually needs to be plugged into it with the provided network cable. For some reason it's also only compatible with the 2.4G WI-FI signal provided from the router, and you have to have your phone on the same WI-FI bandwidth during setup or it won't let you set it up. The range for them seems pretty good though. I have a decent size house and yard and put one in the farthest part of my backyard and didn't have any problems with connecting to it. The app is a little complicated too but once you have everything setup it's not too bad.
On the home tab it will show you your base station and what cameras you have connected and you can name the base station in case you have more than one. You can name the cameras connected as well. I just called mine front yard and backyard. If you click on a camera it will show you what quality you have it set on auto, HD, SD, or 360P. It has a setting for infrared to be either on/off or auto and shows you battery life percent. It has a couple of tabs for features like sound on/off, record, speak, take photo and more. Under the more tab it has features like time lapse, scheduled recording, album, motion tagging, siren and turn off. You can also easily turn them off from the home tab where it shows you the word "on" in a circle, the name of the camera and the battery percentage too. There's an events tab where it will show you a 12 second video of whatever triggered the motion sensor. If you click on it, you can watch it, listen to the sound by clicking on sound, look at the livestream of the camera or delete the video. I've noticed that the motion detection doesn't capture everything but it does catch the majority of things most of the time.
There's a monitoring service that you can purchase along with the cameras. I chose not to because I didn't do any research into what it does or what they provide for you so sorry if you wanted more info on that. There's a shop tab to purchase more of their products and an account tab for the more important things on the app. You can do a lot of things on the account tab like setup a password or two-step verification under the security tab, share your camera with family members under the sharing tab, and more.
Pro:
Features like motion detection, night vision, 8x digital zoom, up to 6 months rechargeable battery life and 14 day rolling Cloud storage.
Easy setup for physical product
Lets you easily share your camera with family
Con:
Software setup can be pretty tricky, especially for those not too tech-savvy
Too easily removed if intended for security
Rating: 8/10
Conclusion:
I have to say these cameras are definitely worth the money to get them. The motion detection is pretty decent and the night vision is really good as well as the zoom. I have been pretty pleased with how they work and have encountered very little issues with them. My parents got some at the same time, so I helped them with setup and everything as well. They have a much bigger home and had some issues with range with where they wanted to put them. One camera has had some issues with connectivity and battery usage. Not sure if it's because it gets more traffic for the motion detection or if defective. Also sometimes a strange alarm sound comes out in recordings as well as static instead of audio. I haven't researched or reached out to Wyze about it yet. That being said, I would still recommend them to people wanting to get some wireless cameras setup at their home but only if they have really good WI-FI and are tech-savvy. I give the Wyze Cam Outdoor Starter Bundle an 8/10.
Over the last year and a half I have been reviewing books and have become somewhat critical, I was wondering if I would ever read a 5 star book again. It didn’t take too long, I would have given Forbidden all the stars if I was allowed. The story of forbidden is heart wrenching and soul-destroying but also wonderful.
Forbidden is a about a dysfunctional family in turmoil. The father left years ago and the mother of 5 children is never home! She is either out getting drunk or with her new boyfriend. Maya and Lochan are the eldest of the 5 children and had to take it upon themselves to keep the family afloat and to make sure social services never find out. Forbidden is about the relationship between Maya and Lochan and how it becomes more than brotherly sisterly love. They know it’s wrong but it feels so right.
I loved this book with all my heart, from the start you get a feeling that Maya and Lochan are not normal brother and sister. They have this connection, it feels like they are the mother and father of the 3 little’s, the way they manage everything from cooking,shopping,homework etc etc. They have been put in this impossible situation due to their mothers neglect.
All the characters are amazing, I could feel the utter despair that Lochan was going through, how he was torn between his feelings and what was socially acceptable. He would do anything for all of his family, he was smart and caring. Stress, taking on a role as father and loving his sister takes a toll on his mental health and starts having panic attacks. Maya was a great character but she wasn’t as vigilant as Lochan.
My feels were all over the place with this book, there is a point in the book where I had to stop reading (This has never happened to me before) I didn’t know if I could go on, it was so intense! My heart was in my mouth! The love in this book didn’t feel wrong and it’s not romaticizing incest, it’s just these children were put in this situation and they were living the role of mother and father in every possible way.
I have never read a book about incest before, it was extremely well written and I manged to read it very quickly despite it being 432 pages long. The book is from dual perspective alternating from Lochan and Maya, so you get an idea of what about both of them are thinking and feeling. No stone was left unturned. I am usually wary about reading books that have a lot of hype surrounding them but this is worth all the hype and more. If you have not read this yet, then you need to grab yourself a copy you won’t regret it.
Has anyone read other works by Tabitha Sazuma, are they as good as Forbidden?
I rated this 5 out of 5 stars.
Forbidden is a about a dysfunctional family in turmoil. The father left years ago and the mother of 5 children is never home! She is either out getting drunk or with her new boyfriend. Maya and Lochan are the eldest of the 5 children and had to take it upon themselves to keep the family afloat and to make sure social services never find out. Forbidden is about the relationship between Maya and Lochan and how it becomes more than brotherly sisterly love. They know it’s wrong but it feels so right.
I loved this book with all my heart, from the start you get a feeling that Maya and Lochan are not normal brother and sister. They have this connection, it feels like they are the mother and father of the 3 little’s, the way they manage everything from cooking,shopping,homework etc etc. They have been put in this impossible situation due to their mothers neglect.
All the characters are amazing, I could feel the utter despair that Lochan was going through, how he was torn between his feelings and what was socially acceptable. He would do anything for all of his family, he was smart and caring. Stress, taking on a role as father and loving his sister takes a toll on his mental health and starts having panic attacks. Maya was a great character but she wasn’t as vigilant as Lochan.
My feels were all over the place with this book, there is a point in the book where I had to stop reading (This has never happened to me before) I didn’t know if I could go on, it was so intense! My heart was in my mouth! The love in this book didn’t feel wrong and it’s not romaticizing incest, it’s just these children were put in this situation and they were living the role of mother and father in every possible way.
I have never read a book about incest before, it was extremely well written and I manged to read it very quickly despite it being 432 pages long. The book is from dual perspective alternating from Lochan and Maya, so you get an idea of what about both of them are thinking and feeling. No stone was left unturned. I am usually wary about reading books that have a lot of hype surrounding them but this is worth all the hype and more. If you have not read this yet, then you need to grab yourself a copy you won’t regret it.
Has anyone read other works by Tabitha Sazuma, are they as good as Forbidden?
I rated this 5 out of 5 stars.
My rating: 3.5
<i>This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review</i>
Erin Eveland is known for her short horror stories but she has moved onto writing novels with <i>Darkness</i> being her first of a series. It was not scary in the way that horror books are generally perceived to be but it did contain a good deal of paranormal ideas.
It begins when the main character, Catherine, is six years old and living with her grandmother. She is constantly haunted by an unseen presence, a nameless terror, which worries her grandmother immensely. Very suddenly, Catherine’s grandmother suffers a fatal heart attack and Catherine ends up being removed from her well looked after home to a dirty trailer park to live with her alcoholic mother. The novel then fast-forwards ten years to a time when Catherine is mostly fending for herself and her mother never goes a day sober. The terrors of her childhood have all but been forgotten but Catherine is beginning to remember and have similar experiences all over again. These incidents increase with the mysterious appearance of a man named Jorgen who insists he wants to protect Catherine. Meanwhile, Nathan, a friend of Catherine, comes into contact with an intriguing man in black who begins to teach him about colours and Darkness – something which could have done with a little more detail. Unbeknownst to Nathan, his dealings with this man may result in harming Catherine, especially as the two friends begin to see odd moving shapes – shadow creatures.
For a while there appeared to be a very thin line between heroes and villains as it took some time to work out the intentions of Jorgen and Artros (the man in black). The novel would have benefitted with more description about these characters: who they are or more importantly, what they are, as well as the significance of the shadow creatures.
Although it was good to be introduced to the paranormal aspects right at the start, this resulted in lessening the amount of foreboding and dread throughout the main bulk of the novel. Even though <i>Darkness</i> is the first in a series, it did not feel that it was properly starting until nearer the end. On finishing, the reader still does not know much about the shadow creatures or what the Darkness is. Presumably the sequel will be more enlightening.
<i>Darkness</i> is sub-titled “An Interactive Novel” and includes Quick Response codes at the beginning of each chapter to heighten the reading experience with the interactive addition of art and music. Of course to benefit from this a smart phone is required (I do not have one therefore cannot comment further on this feature).
Overall, <i>Darkness</i> is a well-written book full of originality that has the potential to become an exciting young adult series.
<i>This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review</i>
Erin Eveland is known for her short horror stories but she has moved onto writing novels with <i>Darkness</i> being her first of a series. It was not scary in the way that horror books are generally perceived to be but it did contain a good deal of paranormal ideas.
It begins when the main character, Catherine, is six years old and living with her grandmother. She is constantly haunted by an unseen presence, a nameless terror, which worries her grandmother immensely. Very suddenly, Catherine’s grandmother suffers a fatal heart attack and Catherine ends up being removed from her well looked after home to a dirty trailer park to live with her alcoholic mother. The novel then fast-forwards ten years to a time when Catherine is mostly fending for herself and her mother never goes a day sober. The terrors of her childhood have all but been forgotten but Catherine is beginning to remember and have similar experiences all over again. These incidents increase with the mysterious appearance of a man named Jorgen who insists he wants to protect Catherine. Meanwhile, Nathan, a friend of Catherine, comes into contact with an intriguing man in black who begins to teach him about colours and Darkness – something which could have done with a little more detail. Unbeknownst to Nathan, his dealings with this man may result in harming Catherine, especially as the two friends begin to see odd moving shapes – shadow creatures.
For a while there appeared to be a very thin line between heroes and villains as it took some time to work out the intentions of Jorgen and Artros (the man in black). The novel would have benefitted with more description about these characters: who they are or more importantly, what they are, as well as the significance of the shadow creatures.
Although it was good to be introduced to the paranormal aspects right at the start, this resulted in lessening the amount of foreboding and dread throughout the main bulk of the novel. Even though <i>Darkness</i> is the first in a series, it did not feel that it was properly starting until nearer the end. On finishing, the reader still does not know much about the shadow creatures or what the Darkness is. Presumably the sequel will be more enlightening.
<i>Darkness</i> is sub-titled “An Interactive Novel” and includes Quick Response codes at the beginning of each chapter to heighten the reading experience with the interactive addition of art and music. Of course to benefit from this a smart phone is required (I do not have one therefore cannot comment further on this feature).
Overall, <i>Darkness</i> is a well-written book full of originality that has the potential to become an exciting young adult series.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated The Mule (2018) in Movies
Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)
Thinking Clint Eastwood is a great actor is sadly not enough to get you through this film.
We open with what honestly reminded me of something you might have seen in Last Of The Summer Wine but with a tinge of melancholy. Those were actual things I wrote down in the screening, it's not often that I can nail my feelings about things like that the instant I see them.
There's some solid acting from some of the support cast. Ignacio Serricchio (amazing in Bones), Robert LaSardo (pops up in lots of different shows and films I watch), Michael Peña
(aaaaahhhh, why didn't he get more screen time?) and Laurence Fishburne (again, probably didn't get enough screen time) gave their best with the limited moments they had. Bradley Cooper managed to eek out some more lines luckily and I loved the interactions between him and Eastwood.
Eastwood himself played the dawdling old man very well, at this point you have to assume that some of that comes naturally rather than from his acting talent. He managed to get himself a choice role with lots of lovely semi-clad ladies in it that's for sure.
After seeing this I'm wondering if it could have benefited from a shift in focus. The family set up at the beginning was a bit drawn out and could easily have lost a lot of it's run time. Had they moved those minutes over to the police/DEA side and made it more crime than drama I think it might have given it a little injection of pace.
The family angle was the main drag for me, it felt much longer than needed but beyond that the acting was the weakest overall. Coming in right at the bottom was Dianne Wiest. I've been thinking about it trying to work out why I didn't like her part as Mary. Sometimes the characters themselves are unlikeable, sometimes it's a poor script, but I think it was just the way she played it. I can think of a couple of other actresses who in the same part could have struck the right note.
In the end I think there was a lot of potential missed, it felt like it spread itself a little too far into the drama side. Some of the bits are a little crazy but get away with being believable... except when they try to make me believe that an octogenarian can work out how to use a smart phone.
What you should do
I probably would say not to bother, there are a lot of other films out there that have a lot more excitement to them.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I'd like to leave mt keys in the glove compartment of my car and come back to a stash of cash. Alas I think I'd come back to a missing car.
We open with what honestly reminded me of something you might have seen in Last Of The Summer Wine but with a tinge of melancholy. Those were actual things I wrote down in the screening, it's not often that I can nail my feelings about things like that the instant I see them.
There's some solid acting from some of the support cast. Ignacio Serricchio (amazing in Bones), Robert LaSardo (pops up in lots of different shows and films I watch), Michael Peña
(aaaaahhhh, why didn't he get more screen time?) and Laurence Fishburne (again, probably didn't get enough screen time) gave their best with the limited moments they had. Bradley Cooper managed to eek out some more lines luckily and I loved the interactions between him and Eastwood.
Eastwood himself played the dawdling old man very well, at this point you have to assume that some of that comes naturally rather than from his acting talent. He managed to get himself a choice role with lots of lovely semi-clad ladies in it that's for sure.
After seeing this I'm wondering if it could have benefited from a shift in focus. The family set up at the beginning was a bit drawn out and could easily have lost a lot of it's run time. Had they moved those minutes over to the police/DEA side and made it more crime than drama I think it might have given it a little injection of pace.
The family angle was the main drag for me, it felt much longer than needed but beyond that the acting was the weakest overall. Coming in right at the bottom was Dianne Wiest. I've been thinking about it trying to work out why I didn't like her part as Mary. Sometimes the characters themselves are unlikeable, sometimes it's a poor script, but I think it was just the way she played it. I can think of a couple of other actresses who in the same part could have struck the right note.
In the end I think there was a lot of potential missed, it felt like it spread itself a little too far into the drama side. Some of the bits are a little crazy but get away with being believable... except when they try to make me believe that an octogenarian can work out how to use a smart phone.
What you should do
I probably would say not to bother, there are a lot of other films out there that have a lot more excitement to them.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I'd like to leave mt keys in the glove compartment of my car and come back to a stash of cash. Alas I think I'd come back to a missing car.
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Welcome to Marwen (2018) in Movies
Jul 2, 2019
Cap’t Hogie (Steve Carell) is saved from of Nazi’s, after his plane crashed in a swamp in Belgium, by a squad women. They are able to take the beaten and battered Hogie back to their town of Marwen. Or at least that the story Mark Hogancamp (also Steve Carell) has conjured in his art installation outside his trailer home. Mark himself was found by a bartender, Wendy (Stefanie von Pfetten), after he was beaten with an inch of his life by a group of white supremacist. Hogancamp was a successful sketch artist and now can hardly write his own name. He also has little to no memory of the life before the beating. But he is still and artist and now his art lives in the dolls he uses to create a fantasy story that mirrors his real life.
The group of women dolls that seem to always save his Hogie character are all based on the women his life. There is G.I. Julie, aka Julie (Janelle Monae), his rehab partner after his accident and Roberta (Merritt Wever), the friendly neighborhood hobby story clerk. Plus there is Anna (Gwendoline Christie) nurse who brings Hogie his mail and supplies in real life and Carlala (Eiza Gonzalez) his coworker in real life. These make up the majority of his bad ass Nazi killing crew in Marwen. The newest addition is his neighbor Nicole (Leslie Mann) who he think might help him defeat the Nazi’s in Marwen for good and be a special new friend in real life. He will need both his Marwen crew and his real life friends as the sentencing for his real life attackers gets closer and his fragile mental health is pushed to a stressful breaking point.
This unique story is based on the real life of world famous photographic artist Mark Hogancamp. Mark was brutally beaten because he made a smart comment about liking to wear women’s shoes. It’s also a story of overcoming addiction and mental health issues. He turned the disaster into a passion for creating art and using fantasy to cope with tragedy.
This was a really interesting way of telling a one of a kind true story. I thought that director, Robert Zemeckis (Forest Gump, Flight) used both real life and the fantasy world of Marwen to create one story. There were times when the story really didn’t flow great between the two worlds but overall was really original filmmaking. The pace and flow were a little off with the transitions. I thought the animation was exceptionally done. The story also had a bunch of topics it tackled, from mental health and memory loss to addiction but also had a good mix of humor. Carell dual performances were really well done and the supporting cast was also good. Films that are original and try new and interesting things are always worth a view in my opinion. I could see the content not really being for everyone but I thought the overall story left me feeling good.
The group of women dolls that seem to always save his Hogie character are all based on the women his life. There is G.I. Julie, aka Julie (Janelle Monae), his rehab partner after his accident and Roberta (Merritt Wever), the friendly neighborhood hobby story clerk. Plus there is Anna (Gwendoline Christie) nurse who brings Hogie his mail and supplies in real life and Carlala (Eiza Gonzalez) his coworker in real life. These make up the majority of his bad ass Nazi killing crew in Marwen. The newest addition is his neighbor Nicole (Leslie Mann) who he think might help him defeat the Nazi’s in Marwen for good and be a special new friend in real life. He will need both his Marwen crew and his real life friends as the sentencing for his real life attackers gets closer and his fragile mental health is pushed to a stressful breaking point.
This unique story is based on the real life of world famous photographic artist Mark Hogancamp. Mark was brutally beaten because he made a smart comment about liking to wear women’s shoes. It’s also a story of overcoming addiction and mental health issues. He turned the disaster into a passion for creating art and using fantasy to cope with tragedy.
This was a really interesting way of telling a one of a kind true story. I thought that director, Robert Zemeckis (Forest Gump, Flight) used both real life and the fantasy world of Marwen to create one story. There were times when the story really didn’t flow great between the two worlds but overall was really original filmmaking. The pace and flow were a little off with the transitions. I thought the animation was exceptionally done. The story also had a bunch of topics it tackled, from mental health and memory loss to addiction but also had a good mix of humor. Carell dual performances were really well done and the supporting cast was also good. Films that are original and try new and interesting things are always worth a view in my opinion. I could see the content not really being for everyone but I thought the overall story left me feeling good.