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Awix (3310 KP) rated Red Sparrow (2018) in Movies
Mar 7, 2018 (Updated Mar 7, 2018)
Stodgy and slightly bloated twisty-turny espionage thriller is made distinctive, if that's the right word, by extra added leery prurience. Beautiful Russian ballerina (played by American) is blackmailed by her uncle (Belgian) into going to elite hooker-spy school, run by terrifying matron (English). Soon she is packed off on mission to subvert rugged American CIA agent (Australian).
Now there's a discussion to be had about just how appropriate it is to be making blockbuster entertainment about Russian espionage, infiltration, and assassination these days - some would say that a taste barrier has been well and truly breached, and the depiction of the Russian state is cartoon-horrible. But surely we can agree that, at the moment if at no other time, there is something unconscionable about a movie the sine qua non of which is the depiction of an attractive young actress in various provocative situations and states of nudity. Some nastily graphic violence, too, much of it misogynistic and openly sexual. J-Law's performance is not up to the usual standard and mainly consists of doing a Rooshan oksent from behind an unflattering fringe. Competently made, but too long and too much. The kind of film you emerge from wanting to be hosed down with sheep dip. Yuck.
Now there's a discussion to be had about just how appropriate it is to be making blockbuster entertainment about Russian espionage, infiltration, and assassination these days - some would say that a taste barrier has been well and truly breached, and the depiction of the Russian state is cartoon-horrible. But surely we can agree that, at the moment if at no other time, there is something unconscionable about a movie the sine qua non of which is the depiction of an attractive young actress in various provocative situations and states of nudity. Some nastily graphic violence, too, much of it misogynistic and openly sexual. J-Law's performance is not up to the usual standard and mainly consists of doing a Rooshan oksent from behind an unflattering fringe. Competently made, but too long and too much. The kind of film you emerge from wanting to be hosed down with sheep dip. Yuck.
ashezbookz (32 KP) rated The Hidden Memory of Objects in Books
Jul 5, 2018
A book where you can't judge a book by its cover. I went into this book not even having read the flap (why can no info be on the back anymore) so to be honest I wasn't expecting anything, but by the cover I definitely wasn't expecting what I had ended up with. I even had to look at the cover of the book again to see if anything at all on there related to the book.. okay, the scissors I'll give you, the slight scrapbook style I will give you.. but for real, I think it could have been done so much better!
Onto the book - started out quite fast paced, and kept on trucking. Almost felt like Erick (oh my gosh I just read it and cant remember how to spell his name) shined brighter than her star .. I mean, really he was just super awesome!
The concept of the book was sweet though and I really enjoyed reading it (minus a few flaws I didn't like.. there was some meat in there I felt could have been trimmed) but it was streamlined well enough for my taste and it'll keep you interested straight through to the end. A definitely good read!
Onto the book - started out quite fast paced, and kept on trucking. Almost felt like Erick (oh my gosh I just read it and cant remember how to spell his name) shined brighter than her star .. I mean, really he was just super awesome!
The concept of the book was sweet though and I really enjoyed reading it (minus a few flaws I didn't like.. there was some meat in there I felt could have been trimmed) but it was streamlined well enough for my taste and it'll keep you interested straight through to the end. A definitely good read!
Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated The Moor in Books
Jan 31, 2019
The Moor is Sam Haysom’s debut novel and though it seems to have pretty high ratings, I found it to fall short of my expectations. The book encompasses the story of a handful of thirteen-year-old boys on a hiking trip through the moors. During this trip, things go wrong and… well, that’s where it tries to be two stories at once: a ghost story and a creature feature.
The ghost story side of this book is fantastic. It’s written in a way that captures the reader’s imagination and honestly, I could picture the details quite well. What I didn’t like was the creature feature side of the book. The monster that makes up this horror tale should be terrifying, but instead I found it to be one dimensional–in fact, every single time the creature shows up, it’s described the same way which really put me off.
I felt no emotions or connections to the boys in the book, and this greatly diminished the emotional/fright factor of the novel for me. I really wanted to taste the fear that these teenaged boys were going through.
I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The ghost story side of this book is fantastic. It’s written in a way that captures the reader’s imagination and honestly, I could picture the details quite well. What I didn’t like was the creature feature side of the book. The monster that makes up this horror tale should be terrifying, but instead I found it to be one dimensional–in fact, every single time the creature shows up, it’s described the same way which really put me off.
I felt no emotions or connections to the boys in the book, and this greatly diminished the emotional/fright factor of the novel for me. I really wanted to taste the fear that these teenaged boys were going through.
I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2171 KP) rated Crime Travel in Books
Dec 9, 2019
Great Short Story Collection to Read Any Time
This short story collection features 15 stories from various authors that combine time travel and crime fiction. The stories are very creative, involving a variety of methods of time travel from people who build machines to those who stumble upon strange ways to get back in time. The periods range from people traveling to the present, to those traveling to Shakespeare’s England, a New Jersey beach town in the 1970’s, and a couple trips to the 1960’s to name a few. Meanwhile, we get a couple capers, a locked room mystery, and a hard-boiled PI among other great stories.
This is a very strong collection of stories. While a couple weren’t quite to my taste, I can see how others would love them and it was a very minor point. I laughed at a few of the stories, another couple made me cry, in a good way. Most importantly, I had fun. There are so many great stories in this collection, you’ll be glad you picked it up. And if you don’t get it now, you just might have to come back in time and yell at yourself for putting it off and depriving yourself of the joys of reading these stories right away.
This is a very strong collection of stories. While a couple weren’t quite to my taste, I can see how others would love them and it was a very minor point. I laughed at a few of the stories, another couple made me cry, in a good way. Most importantly, I had fun. There are so many great stories in this collection, you’ll be glad you picked it up. And if you don’t get it now, you just might have to come back in time and yell at yourself for putting it off and depriving yourself of the joys of reading these stories right away.
Merissa (11958 KP) rated Fire Beyond the Frost in Books
Jan 2, 2020
FIRE BEYOND THE FROST introduces the reader to Catalina, an accomplished surgeon from Earth who signs up to go to an isolated ice planet called Ruvuk. Not only does she want to help the inhabitants of Ruvuk but she also wants to leave behind her ex-fiance. She was expecting cold and ice, but she wasn't expecting the fire she found in Sari.
This is a fast-paced story with plenty of detail given in stories told between our two main characters, so no info-dump here. You get a taste of what life is like for those who live there, as well as some of the dangers they face. The attraction between Sari and Catalina is slow to start with, but once they make the connection, it moves forward quickly.
I loved how Catalina made decisions and choices based upon who she was and what she wanted, without kowtowing to others as she had in the past. I loved how she was so sure of what she was doing, and the risk she was taking.
This was a great story with wonderful characters. It was the first book by Thea Landen I have read, but I doubt very much that it will be the last. Definitely recommended by me.
This is a fast-paced story with plenty of detail given in stories told between our two main characters, so no info-dump here. You get a taste of what life is like for those who live there, as well as some of the dangers they face. The attraction between Sari and Catalina is slow to start with, but once they make the connection, it moves forward quickly.
I loved how Catalina made decisions and choices based upon who she was and what she wanted, without kowtowing to others as she had in the past. I loved how she was so sure of what she was doing, and the risk she was taking.
This was a great story with wonderful characters. It was the first book by Thea Landen I have read, but I doubt very much that it will be the last. Definitely recommended by me.
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