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David McK (3562 KP) rated The Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus, #1) in Books

Sep 1, 2024  
The Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus, #1)
The Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus, #1)
Jonathan Stroud | 2003 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.6 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
Well.

Have you ever read any Terry Pratchett? (incidentally, one of my favourite)

The author of this surely has; in particular putting me in mind somewhat of Eric.

This, however, is set in a (fictional) London, still on planet Earth, but where magic is real and practiced by the ruling (and not very pleasant) class of Magicians, who summon magical creatures to do their dirty work.

Which is where Bartimaeus comes in: a djinni summoned by the boy would-be Magician Nathaniel (aka John) and initially bound to do his will until he discovers his masters birth name.

The story is told roughly every 2 or 3 chapters about from the perspective of both Bartimaeus (in the first person, and with tons of footnotes) himself and from that of Nathaniel (third person, no footnotes), leading up to the final chapter which flits between the both of them in the one chapter alone.

The result, I found, was an enjoyable enough read (although you do want to smack one main character in particular around the head) - I may pick up parts 2 and 3 in the series, but would not be in any great rush to do so.
  
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Sarah (7800 KP) rated The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018) in Movies

Aug 14, 2020  
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)
2018 | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
6
6.6 (9 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
What did I just watch?
I love Terry Gilliam but I'm really not too sure what to make of this film and whether it was really worth the 25 year wait it's taken to get this to the big screen.

This has a great cast, notably Jonathan Pryce who is absolutely wonderful as Don Quixote. And surprisingly Adam Driver. I really don't like him as Kylo Ren but it appears it may be that particular character letting him down as I've loved him in everything else I've seen him in and especially this. He's a hoot. Sadly though I think the rest of the cast may be let down by the sheer wackiness and confusion of it all. And that's the main issue I had with this film, it's absolutely crazy and I didn't have a clue what on earth was going on for the most part. There are the odd funny quips and scenes (one with Oscar Jaenada dressed in a cupid outfit whilst brief gave me the biggest laugh of all), but for me these are few and far between and not enough. The ending is rather silly and fitting and the film overall looks good (even if some of it is in a cheap Monty Python-esque way), but I spent the rest of the film nearly pulling my hair out in frustration as to what the heck was going on and some of the dodgy weird camera angles didn't help. And that's not really something you want to feel while watching a film.

There's a scene towards the end of this film where someone says "try to keep up with the plot" and Adam Driver's character replies with "There's a plot?" - this exchange literally sums up the way I feel about this entire film.
  
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David McK (3562 KP) rated Stardust in Books

Jan 30, 2019 (Updated Apr 30, 2021)  
Stardust
Stardust
Neil Gaiman | 2005 | Fiction & Poetry
6
8.4 (35 Ratings)
Book Rating
My first exposure to Neil Gaiman was when he co-wrote Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch with Terry Pratchett.

This, I believe, was the first of his solo novels that I read.

Circa 2006, not all that long before the movie on which it is based came out.

It was also a, how do we put this?, 'normal' prose novel: not a graphic novel; nor even an illustrated novel (as this is). Indeed, I didn't even know at first that the prose version which I read had previously been issued as an illustrated novel, until I saw it mentioned 'based on the work by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess' at the end of the movie.

It then took me approximately a good decade or so before I finally got round to actually reading that version of the work, when I came across it on sale via Comixology. And, I have to say, the illustrations do add a certain Je Ne Sais Quoi to the work: a work which, while the main beats may be familiar to the reader from the movie version, is also very much its own thing and which includes elements not in said movie (Tristran’s wider family, for one, or even the much sadder ending in this)