Search

Search only in certain items:

Black Mirror  - Season 1
Black Mirror - Season 1
2011 | Sci-Fi
The National Anthem - 7.5

Yes, it’s the one that got it all started; the one with the Prime Minister and the pig. A very clever, if repulsive, episode that explores the power of media and the notion that men in power will do anything to protect their image. As the maiden voyage of Black Mirror, we find that the writing, acting and production values are very strong. There is also a nice multi-layering on display that allows you to debate what this morality tale is actually all about.

Fifteen Million Merits - 7

Before Get Out made him a star, Daniel Kaluuya shows a lot of promise in this pure satire on riding the gravy train and the fast fix provided by reality shows and the dangling carrot of fame and fortune. The rich have their penthouses while the rest of us exist in a hamster wheel of repetition and unattainable dreams. Even the seed of anger and rebellion becomes the focus of “entertainment” in an amusing, but slightly weaker ending than most.

The Entire History of You - 9

A very strong idea, beautifully / horrifically realised, in one of my personal favourites to date. Implant technology allows us to record every moment of our waking lives and replay them through our own eyes or on a screen. The benefits of security, lost keys and legal issues are explored, before the episode descends into a personal nightmare as a brilliant Toby Kebbell begins to suspect his wife, future Dr. Who Jodie Whittaker, of having an affair; proceding then to be obsessed by the minute details of both their recorded “memories”. An exploration of paranoia and close relationships, whilst questioning the morality of privacy, and the role being able to lie to a loved one might have as a positive, not a negative. The genius of it is watching Kebbell lose his mind completely whilst never knowing until the end if his doubts have any validity at all. A technology it is terrifyingly possible to imagine as a reality – and a solution that exists with mobile phones and social media already: you can always opt out, even if that is painful.
  
    ELLE Magazine US

    ELLE Magazine US

    Lifestyle and Magazines & Newspapers

    5.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    SUBSCRIBE NOW AND GET YOUR FIRST ISSUE FREE! In the fashion world, September is all about power....

The Whole Truth (DI Adam Fawley #5)
The Whole Truth (DI Adam Fawley #5)
Cara Hunter | 2021 | Crime, Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have had this book on my 'to-be-read' pile for ages only realising (because my pile is so big!) when book 6 came along. I am so disappointed with myself that I didn't read it earlier because this is yet another cracker from Cara Hunter and a great addition to the series. I don't think you have to read the others in the series to enjoy this as it works pretty well as a standalone.

Once again, we are treated to an up to date story line of alleged abuse by a female in a powerful position against a male student and an old case that is coming back to haunt DI Fawley, his team and his wife. Ms Hunter uses different types of media, including podcasts and transcripts from interviews, to enhance the story and make it feel current and relevant and definitely enhances the reading experience.

The Whole Truth, and in fact the whole series so far, is full of excellent characters that are well developed but what I particularly like is that at the very beginning, there is a brief summary of the main characters in the series which gets you up to speed and jogs your memory which, for people who read a lot of books/series or for those, like me, who have memory lapses from time to time, is really useful. I would certainly recommend this to other authors who write series.

I have one small quibble in what is a really good book and that is the reproduction of Alex's written notes and some of the excepts from text conversations and social media didn't reproduce very well on the Kindle in that they were too small even when the font was set to maximum; I realise in a physical book this is likely not to be an issue but it might be worth thinking about this for future books.

Like I said, this is a cracker and one I would recommend to those of you who enjoy a really good police procedural with some great twists, turns and suspense.

Many thanks to Penguin Books UK and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my views of The Whole Truth.
  
    RichReach (Rich Reach)

    RichReach (Rich Reach)

    Business and Shopping

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    With RichReach, you can be informed for FREE about the Products, Services, Offers and Discounts...

40x40

Courtney (25 KP) rated Instagram in Apps

Feb 7, 2019  
Instagram
Instagram
Communication, Photo & Video, Social Networking
8
8.2 (364 Ratings)
App Rating
Can express emotions. (4 more)
Can show off your photography skills.
Can keep up to date with family and friends.
It rarely crashes.
Can make your account private.
It reminds me a bit of Snapchat and Messenger now since all of the updates. (1 more)
Have a limit on video length.
My Main Social Media Platform!!
Instagram.....this is what I use mainly, more so than Facebook. It's something different and interesting to see people posts pictures instead of a status. I love putting up a picture of the day or even a quote of the day because I believe there's different ways to look at a picture, like that saying, a photo can tell you a 1000 words (something like that).

I do think it's got slightly more technical since the updates as years have gone on, I know to keep ahead of the game and more modernised. In some elements I do feel like it has copied Snapchat and Messenger were it didn't need it.

It has great effects on it from black and white to changing your photo to sepia or enhancing tones and shading. I do like doing all the different enhancements myself to find the perfect way I want my photo to look.

All in all, I can't really say much of a bad thing about Instagram because I use it everyday. I would definitely reccomend, especially if you want to try something new or express yourself more than words could.
  
Stalker (Joona Linna #5)
Stalker (Joona Linna #5)
Lars Kepler | 2019 | Thriller
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Interesting story (0 more)
Slow start (0 more)
5th novel in the Joona Linna series. Can stand-alone
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

Stalker by Lars Kepler is the 5th novel in the Swedish police series involving the main character, Joona Linna. Linna is a detective who is on the hunt of an obsessive, stalking serial killer who secretly video records his victims before brutally murdering them. He taunts police by sending them videos showing the victim alive and clearly unaware they are being recorded.

This novel can stand-alone but, according to reviews on Goodreads, the earlier novels provide information and background stories on characters in the series. I have never read the previous books but have had several of them on my "want to read" list since the 4th book, Sandman, could be found all over social media last year.

I was hesitant to start the series because, I have found when a book has that much hype surrounding it, it feels like a disappointment when reading. I did not feel that when reading Stalker. The novel started off slowly. This may be because I was not familiar with the characters. Familiar or not, after the slow start, I was sucked into the story and will be moving the rest of the series to the top of my "want to read" list.

Review published on Philomathinphila.com on 3/21/19.