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David McK (3854 KP) rated Sharpe's Rifles in TV
Jul 11, 2021
The first of the Sharpe adaptations from the early-to mid '90s, based on what was then the earlies set novel in Bernard Cornwell's long-running series set during the Napoleonic Wars.
I say what-was-then, because - since the culmination of the various TV movies, and even right up to date (the most recent to be released in a few months time, in late 2021), Cornwell has released plenty more such novels, quite a few of which are set even before the start of the Napoleonic Wars, never mind those set 'in-between' the core set of novels; said set of which provided the basis for the TV adaptations.
And that is what these are: an adaptation, rather than a straight re-telling. Sharpe, for instance, is supposed to be a dark haired Londoner rather than fair-haired Cockney (although Sean Bean's portrayal would win over Cornwell, who would later 'retrofit' his character to be closer to Sean Bean). That is probably for the better: literature and film, after all, are two distinct mediums: what works in one may not work in another.
To this day, though, I would still love to see a proper big-screen adaptation, with the budget to match, of one of these stories ...
I say what-was-then, because - since the culmination of the various TV movies, and even right up to date (the most recent to be released in a few months time, in late 2021), Cornwell has released plenty more such novels, quite a few of which are set even before the start of the Napoleonic Wars, never mind those set 'in-between' the core set of novels; said set of which provided the basis for the TV adaptations.
And that is what these are: an adaptation, rather than a straight re-telling. Sharpe, for instance, is supposed to be a dark haired Londoner rather than fair-haired Cockney (although Sean Bean's portrayal would win over Cornwell, who would later 'retrofit' his character to be closer to Sean Bean). That is probably for the better: literature and film, after all, are two distinct mediums: what works in one may not work in another.
To this day, though, I would still love to see a proper big-screen adaptation, with the budget to match, of one of these stories ...
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Apocalypto (2006) in Movies
Sep 21, 2020
*"Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses plays aggressively, on loop*
Oh yeah, still rules - fucking *brutal*, much like most of Gibson's other films it's really nothing more than over two hours of good-looking torture porn. But unlike something such as ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฉ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ต, this doesn't pretend to be more than just that; and when it does, it hardly shows it. A textured, ferocious, teeth-bearing splatterfest - real wrath of God shit. Arrows constantly flying inches past people's heads, armor made out of human jawbones, *multiple* hearts ripped clean out of chests whilst still beating, countless heads on stakes, copious amounts of blood flying everywhere, so on and so forth. A bit too heavy on the motion blur at times, and a disappointing amount of the shots are way too close - it's a jungle for God's sake, use some scale - sometimes looks like a fullscreen film stretched to widescreen. Otherwise Gibson is totally elemental, utilizing every element of space not only with the staggering, all-timer production - but even within the closed quarters of the jungle itself. We never know what could lie just beneath some brush, or behind a tree - or what could be used as a weapon. An even better instance of formulating a jungle into a warzone than ๐๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ. Ending is sudden, but it's for the best.
Oh yeah, still rules - fucking *brutal*, much like most of Gibson's other films it's really nothing more than over two hours of good-looking torture porn. But unlike something such as ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฉ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ต, this doesn't pretend to be more than just that; and when it does, it hardly shows it. A textured, ferocious, teeth-bearing splatterfest - real wrath of God shit. Arrows constantly flying inches past people's heads, armor made out of human jawbones, *multiple* hearts ripped clean out of chests whilst still beating, countless heads on stakes, copious amounts of blood flying everywhere, so on and so forth. A bit too heavy on the motion blur at times, and a disappointing amount of the shots are way too close - it's a jungle for God's sake, use some scale - sometimes looks like a fullscreen film stretched to widescreen. Otherwise Gibson is totally elemental, utilizing every element of space not only with the staggering, all-timer production - but even within the closed quarters of the jungle itself. We never know what could lie just beneath some brush, or behind a tree - or what could be used as a weapon. An even better instance of formulating a jungle into a warzone than ๐๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ. Ending is sudden, but it's for the best.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated First In The Fight: 20 Women Who Made Manchester in Books
Sep 24, 2020
This book concentrates on Influential women from Manchester, who fought for women rights and tried to make our life more equal to men. We can find many biographies that inspire and left me more determined to fight for my rights. It also shares quite a lot of history of Manchester and how these women changed it. I really loved the illustrations of every single woman whoโs biographies were shared, as well as plenty of photographs from statue reveals, rallies, and other important events that happened in this fine city. I really loved the research done for this book, there are tons of facts, and I applaud the dedication.
I liked the writing style, but it was quite suffocating sometimes with all the facts and historical terms, and it wasnโt the easiest of reads for me. The chapters are short, and that helped to cope with the style of this book. To conclude, I think it is a very important book to read, and I am very happy that this book was published and we have a chance to know more about all these icons, that moulded our country and itโs society. If you would like to get inspired and feel low on self-esteem, do read this book, it will weak up the warrior in you!
I liked the writing style, but it was quite suffocating sometimes with all the facts and historical terms, and it wasnโt the easiest of reads for me. The chapters are short, and that helped to cope with the style of this book. To conclude, I think it is a very important book to read, and I am very happy that this book was published and we have a chance to know more about all these icons, that moulded our country and itโs society. If you would like to get inspired and feel low on self-esteem, do read this book, it will weak up the warrior in you!
BookInspector (124 KP) rated After She's Gone in Books
Sep 24, 2020
The protagonists in this book would be Malin and Jake, and the book is told mainly from their perspectives. Malin is a police officer, who grew up in an isolated town called Ormberg, and is back with her colleagues, to investigate a murder, that happened years ago. Jake is a teenage schoolboy, who loves dressing up in womanโs clothes, and by accident, gets hold of Hanneโs diary. I really liked most of the characters in this book, and I loved to read their personal and intriguing stories. I really liked the way Camilla Grebe shared the story of not only the main but supporting characters as well.
The narrative of this book was interesting, but it lacked suspense and excitement. Especially, the investigation part. Sometimes the chapters really dragged, particularly Malinโs parts. Her parts lacked intrigue, and her thoughts became quite repetitive after a while. I really enjoyed Jakeโs parts, his secret life, his thoughts and snippets from Hanneโs diary, held this book together. The topics discussed were dementia and how the person feels while having it, bullying, sexual confusion, refugee situation from nativeโs perspectives, and many more.
The setting of this book is cold, gloomy, quite claustrophobic and depressing. The plot is set in the middle of forests full of snow, so it is perfect for winter lovers.
The narrative of this book was interesting, but it lacked suspense and excitement. Especially, the investigation part. Sometimes the chapters really dragged, particularly Malinโs parts. Her parts lacked intrigue, and her thoughts became quite repetitive after a while. I really enjoyed Jakeโs parts, his secret life, his thoughts and snippets from Hanneโs diary, held this book together. The topics discussed were dementia and how the person feels while having it, bullying, sexual confusion, refugee situation from nativeโs perspectives, and many more.
The setting of this book is cold, gloomy, quite claustrophobic and depressing. The plot is set in the middle of forests full of snow, so it is perfect for winter lovers.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated You Are Not Alone (2014) in Movies
Sep 19, 2020
Something my friends and I would have rented from the video store in 2011 on a Friday night after school and loved - and much to my delight this is actually pretty good stuff. One half reasonably fun "day in the life" with a perfect rural small town feel and really likable characters, one half most easily avoidable horror movie situation ever with one creepy motherfucking killer played out at enticing length. Doesn't really get all it can get out of the first-person gimmick but it's done well overall, at times feels like you're watching yourself get stuck in this situation and there's nothing you can do about it - which of course I was fully on board for. Genuinely shocked how stellar the acting is, how many good songs are on the soundtrack, and how little the budget shows all for a Kickstarter film. Has a few damn scary moments but sometimes this can feel a little *too* calculated - a loud, cued score and over-obvious slowed motions where silence and more natural movements would succeed. But I can't complain too much, it looks great and doesn't mess around with any stupidly obvious whodunit twists or predictable jump scares or whatever - routinely wrings the fear out of something as simple as looking around a corner. The biggest reason this isn't rated any higher is because I desperately wanted more of it.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Titan A.E. (2000) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020
Design-wise nothing short of extraordinary, the blend of astounding nu-age CGI and trademark Bluth animation should by no means work but it ends up looking like heaven. Definitely also helps that this has exactly 0% fat to it and rides on one fun, kinetic wave from start to finish that's full of rapturous action sequences and endlessly creative visuals. That being said, outside of a couple nice turns the story is total copy-and-paste sci-fi template - but I digress, I guess it's still serviceable for this type of thing but this is just *begging* to have some depth injected into its potentially thought-provoking story. What kills this from greatness for me is how chained it is to the era it was made in; granted it still could have turned out much worse but the fakey-sounding, faux-edgy soundtrack sucks so much shit (sans a couple okay song choices [thx Powerman 5000]) that it single-handedly knocks the whole rating down a half star, and the totally repellent "tude" that was required in all of these mid-late 90s/early 2000s kids' films makes me want to rip my hair out. I suppose you can write this in with ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ด๐บ: ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ด ๐๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ for flawed early-aughts orgasmically animated sci-fi bombs that I'm still a total softie for. Gets pretty gnarly sometimes, too.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The Gentlemen (2020) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฅ. I want to love Guy Ritchie returning to his gangster roots so badly, but I'm pretty sure I've seen this exact Ritchie movie before... multiple times... done less and less well with almost each subsequent attempt. I mean at least ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐.๐.๐.๐.๐. had style, at least ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ๐ถ๐ณ: ๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ had energy, at least ๐๐ฆ๐ท๐ฐ๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ had nuance, and at least ๐๐ฐ๐ค๐ฌ๐ฏ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ข had personality. I don't know whether the dire restraint he shows here is an attempt at showing maturity or a lack of caring towards this story (which even at best feels like a first draft) but it plays out like the latter. A bare-bones Ritchie premise mired with flatness and unoriginality which decides it wants to be ๐๐ถ๐ค๐ฌ๐บ ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ญ๐ฆ๐ท๐ช๐ฏ in all its convoluted bullshit at the last second. Intermittently has its moments when it finally decides to put some much needed pep in its step, and overall it's at least watchable - sometimes even tricking you into thinking it might be alright - but by Lord if this just had some fun it'd be ten times better even in spite of the been-there-done-that script. Forgets it ever existed quicker than you will, even the characters are dull. Also holy shit this is easily the worst dialogue of his career.
ClareR (6256 KP) rated Antiemetic for Homesickness in Books
Nov 28, 2020
I donโt often review poetry, because I just donโt have the experience to do so effectively, I think. But I do like to read poetry, and listen to it being read. This book of poems centres around the poets lived experience - leaving the Philippines as an older teenager and coming to live in the UK with her mother, a nurse in the NHS, and the rest of her family. As it says in the title of the book, there is a real feeling of homesickness and guilt of having left family behind. The wish to hold on to her heritage comes across strongly as well. At the same time, Anteโs life and work as a nurse in the NHS is in many of these poems - the hard work, the racism she encounters and the care she takes of her patients.
I really enjoyed the glimpses into life in the Philippines, and I made good use of the โBoodle Fight of Words and Terminologiesโ, the notes and Google translate (itโs the linguist in me ๐คท๐ผโโ๏ธ) It sounds like hard work, doesnโt it - but it wasnโt. This will be a book that goes on my poetry shelf (yes, I have one!) that I will revisit often, I think.
Thank you to Vintage Books for sending me this book - itโs always worth entering the competition because sometimes I do win!!
I really enjoyed the glimpses into life in the Philippines, and I made good use of the โBoodle Fight of Words and Terminologiesโ, the notes and Google translate (itโs the linguist in me ๐คท๐ผโโ๏ธ) It sounds like hard work, doesnโt it - but it wasnโt. This will be a book that goes on my poetry shelf (yes, I have one!) that I will revisit often, I think.
Thank you to Vintage Books for sending me this book - itโs always worth entering the competition because sometimes I do win!!
Merissa (14106 KP) rated Amongst the Chaos in Books
Oct 19, 2020
Amongst the Chaos is a standalone (I think) but could be part of a series. (I hope it is part of a series and I want to more about these guys.) It is also the first book by this author I have read but it won't be the last.
The character building in this book is second to none. It was obvious what was going on between Asher and Chloe but the tense expectation about killed me! It was definitely a case of when and not if. Grayson was a brilliant character who supported Chloe in all ways but wasn't afraid to show his emotions. This was sometimes detrimental to his own cause but he owned it.
Paige and Dom are two brilliant supporting characters, the same as the rest of the 'brothers'. And just because he irritated me, I'd love to know more about Gabe!
This was a great, page-turning story that kept my attention from the very beginning with excellent scene-setting and amazing characters and full of suspense and steam. I loved every moment of this and have no hesitation in recommending it.
* 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!
The character building in this book is second to none. It was obvious what was going on between Asher and Chloe but the tense expectation about killed me! It was definitely a case of when and not if. Grayson was a brilliant character who supported Chloe in all ways but wasn't afraid to show his emotions. This was sometimes detrimental to his own cause but he owned it.
Paige and Dom are two brilliant supporting characters, the same as the rest of the 'brothers'. And just because he irritated me, I'd love to know more about Gabe!
This was a great, page-turning story that kept my attention from the very beginning with excellent scene-setting and amazing characters and full of suspense and steam. I loved every moment of this and have no hesitation in recommending it.
* 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!
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Broken Beauty (Broken Beauty Novellas #1) in Books
Jan 12, 2021
I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars.
This is a novella length story, the first of six, and deals with the aftermath and issues surrounding rape. It was a tough read at times but a good strong story.
I felt sorry for Mia. Being brought up in a political family and then being rapedโฆand her father wants to glorify it to get more voters so he can win his election. How twisted can your life get? Her family do and say things to get voters, whether itโs helping Mia cope or notโmainly notโand I wanted to scream and shout at them in her defence.
And despite all that, some people do care. Dom, the policeman that found her in the first place, tries to help her realise that the only way her attackers will not get away with it, is to tell the truth and stop following her familyโs wish to let it drop. Heโs so nice and gentle with her. Her friend, Ari, tries to do whatever Mia wants but seeing how sheโs strugglingโฆwhat can you do?
Itโs an emotional and sometimes tough story to read but after finishing this, Iโm looking forward to the next part in the series to see what Mia does next. I hope sheโs strong enough to go against her family.
3.5 stars.
This is a novella length story, the first of six, and deals with the aftermath and issues surrounding rape. It was a tough read at times but a good strong story.
I felt sorry for Mia. Being brought up in a political family and then being rapedโฆand her father wants to glorify it to get more voters so he can win his election. How twisted can your life get? Her family do and say things to get voters, whether itโs helping Mia cope or notโmainly notโand I wanted to scream and shout at them in her defence.
And despite all that, some people do care. Dom, the policeman that found her in the first place, tries to help her realise that the only way her attackers will not get away with it, is to tell the truth and stop following her familyโs wish to let it drop. Heโs so nice and gentle with her. Her friend, Ari, tries to do whatever Mia wants but seeing how sheโs strugglingโฆwhat can you do?
Itโs an emotional and sometimes tough story to read but after finishing this, Iโm looking forward to the next part in the series to see what Mia does next. I hope sheโs strong enough to go against her family.