Search

Search only in certain items:

Take Me Home Tonight (2011)
Take Me Home Tonight (2011)
2011 | Comedy
7
7.5 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
If you’re planning an 80’s party anytime soon, make sure to download the soundtrack to Take Me Home Tonight. The opening montage alone reminded me of everything I loved about the 80’s. It also gave us a glimpse of Matt Franklin’s high school years. Matt, played by Topher Grace, was the kid voted as “Smartest” in his class, one who existed on the outer fringes of high school popularity, who always had his eye on the most popular girl in school, Tori Fredreking, but could never muster up the courage or find that “in” to catch her attention.

Unsure of where his life is taking him, Matt decides to take a break from MIT during the summer of ’88 and ends up working at Suncoast Video. Of course, who should come strolling in to his store one day but Matt’s high school crush herself. Hoping to impress her, Matt ditches his Suncoast nametag, and tells Tori, played by Teresa Palmer (a deadringer for Kristen Stewart, if Kirsten were blond and more animated), that he works for Goldman-Sachs. Tori’s a banker herself, it turns out, and her curiousity is finally piqued and she encourages him to attend Kyle Masterson’s annual Labor Day party.

Matt relies on his twin sister Wendy, played by Anna Faris, and their best friend Barry, an intense Dan Fogler, to help him build on this “in” and finally get Tori’s phone number. But Matt isn’t the only one having to deal with the confusing transition into adulthood. Wendy has to decide if she wants to pursue her Masters or settle down with her boyfriend Kyle, while Barry just got fired from his car salesman job. The three of them decide to attend the end-of-summer party thrown by Wendy’s boyfriend Kyle, played by Parks & Rec’s Chris Pratt, all with the intent of “living in the now.” Apparently living in the now means commiting grand theft auto, experimenting with cocaine, perpetuating a lie and crashing a bankers’ party.

Despite the silly hijinks, Matt isn’t hard to root for, especially given Topher Grace’s signature sympathetic awkwardness. Fogler’s comic foil to Grace’s straight-man dances precariously along the line between funny and WTH? When the movie about Sam Kinnison’s life is ever made, Fogler should be given serious consideration.

There’s good chemistry between the cast and there’s just enough sweet romance to balance out the outrageous situations. Silly, predictable entertainment, made more fun by the nostalgic soundtrack, this movie is tamer than most of the R-rated comedies of recent note. Think any John Hughes movie meets Hot Tub Time Machine.
  
40x40

Merissa (12051 KP) rated Boy Banned in Books

Jun 8, 2023  
Boy Banned
Boy Banned
RJ Scott | 2016 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I started reading this book at night, and that was my first mistake!

STOP!!!! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT OPENING THIS BOOK...

... at least, not until you can sit down and read it without interruption because, trust me, you will NOT want to be disturbed until you've finished it! Like I said, I started it at night and read until I couldn't read anymore. I reluctantly put it down, only to dream about the story and the characters all night. I couldn't wait to continue the next day, but life got in the way, making me wait.

Mind you, it was worth it when I could finally dive back in and continue with Corey and Angel's story. Taking place in a UK reality pop show, Angel and Corey, plus the other members of the bank, are actually there as individuals but are placed together by the judges. After a faltering start, they come together, becoming good friends and helping each other out. The fly in the ointment is their 'mentor'. Yeesh, I wasn't sure it was possible to really dislike someone to the extent that I did with her.

All five of these characters are amazing, supportive and friendly to each other whilst dealing with their own foibles. Corey and Angel are the ones who stole my heart, but each of them is in there! The descriptions used to describe Corey and how he is feeling/dealing with things are raw and real! Angel being his safe place made complete sense and that is just one other thing that I loved about this story. It all makes sense!!! Nothing seems forced or out of place. The story flows, with sweet and spicy spots, but overall, it is a love story.

In case you haven't figured it out by now, I absolutely LOVE this story. It is one of the books that I couldn't wait to finish but really didn't want to either. I needed to know if they got their HEA but didn't want their story to end. Totally first-rate, highly recommended and everything that goes with it. Basically, if you like M/M Romance, you should give this book a try!!! (Bearing in mind what I said at the start!) I sincerely hope that for every Corey out there, they find their Angel!

* 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!
May 27, 2016
  
WT
Worth the Wait (Guthrie Brothers #2)
6
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Worth the wait is a follow up book to Don’t Tempt Me, which was first released in July 2016. I happened upon Don’t Tempt Me after completing a book by another author. I loved it and was hungry for a continuation of the Guthrie Brothers story. After waiting for months and months its finally available to read to be transported to Clearbrook once again. Lori Foster, honestly, is one of my favorite authors. She has the ability to put you right in the middle of each and every book she writes. You feel the emotions each character feels, you can hear the sounds, almost smell the smells, and picture each character by her incredible descriptions of people and their surroundings. Worth the Wait is about main characters Hogan Guthrie and Violet Shaw. We met both characters in Don’t Tempt Me and got a muted sense of their attraction to one another. While I loved the characters of Hogan and Colt in Don’t Tempt Me, I don’t know if that transferred over to Worth the Wait where Hogan is concerned. Colt is a dream kid, funny, helpful, loves his family. But I found myself wishing I knew more about Hogan, overall his back-story seemed rushed along.

As with most Lori Foster novels we find ourselves getting involved in secondary characters and stories both separate from or including main characters. Some we hope to see get a book of their own (Barber, Colt) and some well maybe we don’t. Worth the Wait has a possible don’t with a secondary romance between Nathan Hawley and Brooklin Sweet. I enjoyed Nathan’s brief introduction in Don’t Tempt Me but I felt like his story was just randomly inserted in the book as a way to fill the pages. After finishing the book I feel like I know a little more about Nathan but mostly that his story was just a way to fill the pages between Hogan and Violet’s dance around each other. I know Nathan wasn’t a main character for this book and I know he was a friend of Hogan and Jason. I also know his story with Brooklin ties in to the story of Hogan and Violet, I just don’t feel like his time was in this book.

Seemingly I felt like the story between Hogan and Violet dragged on a little long with some interactions taking a long time on mundane things and speeding through things that may have set up a bigger connection between them. I think more time could have been spent on Violet’s family life, her connection with her uncle etc and grow that a little more for her back-story. Both main characters fell a little flat with detail on the who/what/why of their pasts. Don’t get me wrong, they definitely felt right for each other, I just didn’t get swept away by their romance as I normally do with a Lori Foster novel.

Overall I enjoyed Worth the Wait, even the parts that bug me like being able to see someone roll their eyes behind big ridiculous sunglasses, but it probably won’t be one book I go back to read and read over again (i.e. Rowdy, Trace, Zane to name a few). Sadly this book just didn’t grab my uninterrupted full interest, this time. But I know Lori Foster will grab my attention over and over again with each new book she publishes. I received Worth the Wait as an ARC in exchange for an honest review (watch out because blunt is my middle name). Hope this review helps now hurry and buy your own copy of Worth the Wait to prove me wrong, everyone loves to be right!!
  
Crown of Midnight
Crown of Midnight
Sarah J. Maas | 2013 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
9.1 (48 Ratings)
Book Rating
Crown of Midnight was a wonderful sequel - it improved on pretty much everything from the first book.

Celaena doesn't really do much assassination? Now she's the King's Champion, and it's her job. <spoiler>Well, okay - maybe there's still not too much assassination going on. But there's definitely more action!</spoiler>

That pesky love triangle gets completely done away with (which makes me question why it was an issue in the first place, aside from being there to create drama), and in its place a believable, sweet romance is started.

(I am Team Chaol. All the way.)

Dorian actually grows as a character, and is more than just a stereotypical womanizer.

Even the scope of the story is larger. Where the first book was primarily centered around the castle, Crown of Midnight actually gives us a look at the city. Or, well, certain parts of it, at any rate. And while the threat is still the same vague threat as the first book, by the end, things start to fall into place about what exactly happened ten years ago, and where magic disappeared to.

I really enjoyed this one, which was nice, given my lukewarm feelings about the first book in the series. A good portion of my change of opinion is because of the growth of Dorian and Chaol - particularly Chaol.

I am a sucker for many things in fantasy. I love a good assassin. I love magic, especially when the magic system is well thought out. I love thieves. And I also love loyal knights who have to deal with the bombshell of finding out that everything they thought they were protecting was a lie.

Just watching Chaol fight to reconcile his old loyalties and what he grew up believing with what he now knows to be the truth was beautiful. He goes through an amazing amount of character development, and is easily the most complex character in the story. (Which is why I'm Team Chaol. Even though Celaena doesn't really deserve him.)

He actually reminded me a lot of Darres, from the [b:Vampire Game, Volume 01|282294|Vampire Game, Volume 01|JUDAL|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1343116853s/282294.jpg|273847] manga. Dang it. I need to reread that entire series.

Unfortunately, Celaena stopped me from absolutely adoring this book. She didn't grow very much as a character - in places she actually seemed to regress - and the "twist" was painfully predictable. Even if I hadn't guessed it back at the start of the first book, based on the type of story this is, there's more than enough to pick up on what's going on.

So my reaction was less, <i>"GASP!!!"</i> and more, <i>"Why has nobody else figured this out???"</i>

Especially the king. You'd think he'd be all over that.
  
40x40

Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) rated Blithe Spirit (2020) in Movies

Mar 31, 2021 (Updated Mar 31, 2021)  
Blithe Spirit (2020)
Blithe Spirit (2020)
2020 | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Dan Stevens is charming. (0 more)
The women act like shrews. (6 more)
Cheap jokes.
Lack of class and style.
Poor character development.
No depth to the characters at all.
Unsophisticated.
Would have been funnier without the sex jokes.
No! No! No! This is not the way Noel Coward is meant to be seen. Avoid this!
Contains spoilers, click to show
I am a HUGE fan of Noel Coward and absolutely adore the original Blithe Spirit. I had high hopes for this version as I like all of the actors involved in the movie. Unfortunately, it was a complete disappointment. Judi Dench's Madame Arcati paled in the memory of Margaret Rutherford, though much of the dialogue and actions during the seance scene were the same. She tried her best but the script just wasn't any good. I did appreciate the backstory of her losing her husband in the Boer War and that being the reason she was interested in the occult. The significance of the song Always was not mentioned, though it was very important to the plot in the original and made the movie relatable. Gone was the ethereal, sweet, mischievous little minx Elvira, played by Kay Hammond in the original. Enter the selfish, unlovable shrew of a first wife, played by the usually lovable Leslie Mann in the remake. The relationship between Charles and Elvira does not make any sense to the viewer and there was no point for them to have been together or for her to have thought of her and to bring her forth in the present. This is a missed plot point. In the original, it is actually the maid who was thinking of Elvira, not Charles, but the maid is merely a go-between for props in this movie and has no reason for being there, nor the chef. The relationship between Ruth and Charles is also not a good one and they have no reason to be together in this remake, though in the original, they at least have a few things in common. They seem to have nothing but derision toward each other. Again, I don't see the point of them being together. All of them are miserable together. Even when Elvira and Charles are intimate, it is not for romance and love but for mere hatred, jealousy, and spite. There is even a cheap crotch shot joke that I was appalled to see in this work. And the ending of the movie makes little sense. It's hardly the charming farce Noel Coward intended. Oh, the horrors. Skip this version. Watch the original. Trust me on this. This movie is not the way Noel Coward is meant to be seen.
  
One Small Thing (One Thing, #1)
One Small Thing (One Thing, #1)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I LOVED THIS BOOK!

So Rue finds out he's going to be a dad after a one night drunken thing with a girl and he wants the baby. On sight he falls in love with baby Alice.
<a href="http://s216.photobucket.com/user/leannecrab/media/tumblr_m8r241MBHz1rdt98to1_5001.gif.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc19/leannecrab/tumblr_m8r241MBHz1rdt98to1_5001.gif"; border="0" alt=" photo tumblr_m8r241MBHz1rdt98to1_5001.gif"/></a>

And she's treated like a Princess by her daddy and Uncle Dusty. It's so cute!
<a href="http://s216.photobucket.com/user/leannecrab/media/tumblr_lxdoqoPwAA1qm6oc3o1_5001.gif.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc19/leannecrab/tumblr_lxdoqoPwAA1qm6oc3o1_5001.gif"; border="0" alt=" photo tumblr_lxdoqoPwAA1qm6oc3o1_5001.gif"/></a>

There's only one problem. Rue needs to go back to school so he can have his dream job as hairdresser. After scouring day-cares and finding them lacking he posts an ad in his building looking for a baby-sitter.

In comes Erik, his neighbour. Erik is fairly shy, he doesn't like change and large crowds but after meeting Rue and his baby daughter he's drawn to them and offers his services.

It was such cute reading for the first 40% or so when they're interacting with Alice, the awkwardness but the love she receives from her daddy, uncle and Erik.

I don't want to go into too much detail in case it spoils it for you but over time feelings change and a sweet romance blossoms between the two main characters.
<a href="http://s216.photobucket.com/user/leannecrab/media/tumblr_n56mn6JBsi1skkueko1_5001.gif.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc19/leannecrab/tumblr_n56mn6JBsi1skkueko1_5001.gif"; border="0" alt=" photo tumblr_n56mn6JBsi1skkueko1_5001.gif"/></a>

Alice grows up some.
<a href="http://s216.photobucket.com/user/leannecrab/media/tumblr_m9b8cdhOtg1ryfwpio1_5001.gif.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc19/leannecrab/tumblr_m9b8cdhOtg1ryfwpio1_5001.gif"; border="0" alt=" photo tumblr_m9b8cdhOtg1ryfwpio1_5001.gif"/></a>

As usual in books there was some conflict that our characters had to deal with and for that. I had many of these moments
<a href="http://s216.photobucket.com/user/leannecrab/media/tumblr_n3lyd3cmvm1r4vgdao1_5001.gif.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc19/leannecrab/tumblr_n3lyd3cmvm1r4vgdao1_5001.gif"; border="0" alt=" photo tumblr_n3lyd3cmvm1r4vgdao1_5001.gif"/></a>

And then of course:
<a href="http://s216.photobucket.com/user/leannecrab/media/tumblr_n3204qyaHC1t1prrio1_5001.gif.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc19/leannecrab/tumblr_n3204qyaHC1t1prrio1_5001.gif"; border="0" alt=" photo tumblr_n3204qyaHC1t1prrio1_5001.gif"/></a>

But all ends up good, so I'm one very happy person right now.
<a href="http://s216.photobucket.com/user/leannecrab/media/tumblr_mls5tuR5HK1qhuxpco1_5001.gif.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc19/leannecrab/tumblr_mls5tuR5HK1qhuxpco1_5001.gif"; border="0" alt=" photo tumblr_mls5tuR5HK1qhuxpco1_5001.gif"/></a>

I'm interested in reading Dusty's story too, off to hunt it out on Scribd :D
  
40x40

Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) rated Merrily We Go to Hell (1932) in Movies

Sep 3, 2020 (Updated Sep 3, 2020)  
Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
1932 | Classics, Comedy, Drama
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Pre-code (4 more)
What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
Skeet Gallagher as Buck, the sidekick
Florence Britton as Charlcie, the female sidekick
Directed by female director Dorothy Arzner
No relationship development between the male and female protagonists. (0 more)
Contains spoilers, click to show
It was an important movie of its time. It is a pre-code movie so it was able to get away with sins such as alcoholism and infidelity of husbands AND wives without making them pay in the end.

Sylvia Sidney plays Joan Prentice, the daughter of the president of Prentice coffee and Fredric March plays Jerry Corbett, a newspaperman who wishes to be a playwright. They meet at a society party where she is trying to ignore the advances of a very handsy older man and he is on the terrace drunk and drinking even more. She somehow finds him charming and he finds her "swell." They make a date to meet up again and romance follows. I mean, allegedly follows though it seems like a huge plot point to me what they see in each other and what kind of substance their relationship has. I've never been a very romantic person but even this seems terribly lacking to me.

Skeets Gallagher plays the sidekick Buck and he's worth his weight in gold. He a drinking buddy and scenes with him often start with the camera panning him tap dancing from behind. He's sweet, sympathetic, charming, and adorable and brings so much life to the role and film. Florence Britton plays the female sidekick to Fredric March's Jerry Corbett and is a bold lady, and kind. She and Buck are so much fun and not sloppy drunk like Corbett. I would much rather watch a movie with the two of them.

Sylvia Sidney, the female protagonist was bold and determined. After her husband cheats on her with his former wife, she goes out to have a little fun, too. She gets tired of her husband's constant drunkenness and leaves him. He seems to come to his senses at the end of the movie and goes to her. Spoiler alert: she is in the hospital having delivered their baby. He didn't know she was pregnant and only learned about the baby after reading the birth announcement in the newspaper. This is a premonition of things to come once the code comes into play as any sin must be paid for with a person's ruin or death. However, it ends on a happy note that their marriage will be better and that they are hopeful for the future.

* Watch for Cary Grant in one of his earliest roles as the male lead in the period drama play towards the end of the film.
  
Eight Perfect Hours
Eight Perfect Hours
Lia Louis | 2021 | Art, Photography & Fashion, Humor & Comedy, LGBTQ+, Romance
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Noelle Butterby has recently broken up with her boyfriend of twelve years, Ed. Ed found Noelle pathetic for staying home to take care of her ill Mum and therefore being unwilling to travel to the States with him for a new job. But for Noelle, it's more than that. Her family obligations are both confining and all she has--leaving her unable to fulfill her own dreams, including opening her own flower shop. On her way to her university reunion--the first time she's been out in ages--Noelle finds herself trapped on a snowy roadway. With traffic stalled for hours, she meets Sam, the man in the car next to hers. They form a small friendship over the eight hours they're stuck, bonding while she charges her phone and they forage for food. In those few hours, Noelle is truly, actually happy. But the roadway is cleared and Sam drives off. Yet, somehow, after their snowy time together, the universe seems to continue to throw Sam and Noelle together. Each is dealing with their own relationship woes, but they feel drawn to one another. Are Sam and Noelle meant to be? And can Noelle find her own way while dealing with the weight of her family responsibility?

"Eight hours. Eight tiny hours is all they were. And already I miss them. Ridiculous. I am ridiculous."

I fell completely for this charming story. It's completely lovely, with such wonderful characters in Noelle and Sam, whom I found myself rooting for from the beginning. There are enough obstacles that I actually found myself wondering if they would wind up together, yet determined that they were meant to be. The book is so sweet yet has its serious moments as well, and it tackles mental health in a honest way, dealing with depression, agoraphobia, and post-partum issues quite well.

"And I feel--something. I don't know what exactly. Alive. Buzzy. Like my blood is rushing with stars, with electricity."

Both Sam and Noelle lost someone early in their lives, and some parts of this book will hit hard if you lost a loved one in your early twenties--their grief feels so real and raw (also a trigger warning for suicide). Their lives have been changed by these deaths, as well as hanging on to relationships that may not be the best for them. Watching them bond is so heartwarming. This is such a romantic read, with excellent pieces of chemistry and sexual tension--it's so well-done and builds quite excellently. This isn't insta-love, but a good slow burn that feels passionate and honest.

Overall, I really loved this one. The romance is excellent, and the message of finding your way together when it was meant to be is beautiful. 4.5 stars.