Rick Steves France: 2017
Book
You can count on Rick Steves to tell you what you really need to know when traveling in France. With...
Alice and the Fly
Book
Greg is cripplingly shy, afraid of spiders, and obsessed with Breakfast at Tiffany's. He's not...
Young Adult mental health
All That Remains: Part 1
Games and Entertainment
App
“Duncan Price is paranoid” they used to say. He’s just a “local nut” they said. They used...
Amalgamated (Coming Home #2)
8.0
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Book
Escape with Leo and Zak in outback Australia as they discover it sometimes takes time, distance, and...
Contemporary MM Romance Small Town Novella
Two For The Road
10.0
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Book
Sometimes you need to listen to your heart, not your head. As a teenager, Dylan Hargreaves fell...
M_M Contemporary Romance
Mr June (Calendar Men #6)
8.0
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Book
Ilias Hayes is coming to believe that there is truth to the saying ‘no good deed goes...
4 stars male/male shifters hangover cures police dudes
SummerLGrant (185 KP) rated The Handmaid's Tale - Season 1 in TV
Aug 2, 2017
There are some differences to the book, of course. The main one being June, she's stronger in the show, more determined. This isn't necessarily a bad thing because they had to make adaptations in order for it to work on the screen and I think they way they've done it is genius. She doesn't come across as an entirely different character, if you compare her to the June from the book it's more like they mostly travelled the same path but made a few different decision along the way. Along with this stronger June comes a bit more hope, is it possible that she'll be able to escape? Is it possible that she'll meet Moira, Luke and Hannah again? Can there really be an end to the regime in Gilead?
Each of the characters are strong and memorable, brought to life by a brilliant cast of people. One minute you can be sympathising for them and the next absolutely loathing them. Not only is that a sign of how good the acting is but also how amazing the writing on the show was. A tense show that builds up throughout the series, while it never feels over-packed it is full of messages for all of us to take to heart and keep in mind.
With a second season confirmed it's now going beyond the scope of the book and that's exciting, we get to see where June's story goes and with the open-ended way the book finished who knows where it'll go.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) in Movies
Mar 13, 2020
Released a whopping 22 years after the beloved original, it's existence feels like it should be firmly in the "money grab" territory of Hollywood, but that just simply isn't the case.
Firstly, it's not just a re hash of the original plot. This time around, four teenagers all in detention for one reason or another, come across an old, unrecognisable games console labelled 'Jumanji'. After booting up the game and selecting their desired characters, the group are sucked into the game world, and have to complete it from within if they want to escape with their lives.
When in the game, the teens take on the roles of the characters they selected, each with their own skill sets. It's a delight for any video game fans, with fun references and silly NPC jokes scattered around.
The four younger actors don't get a huge amount of screen time, but they're engaging enough when they are about, bit the stars are of course the four who are front and centre of all the advertising. The chemistry between Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart and Jack Black is fantastic and genuine. The script is tight and joke heavy, and every humourous line lands without fail. They all do a great job of awkward teenagers trapped inside the bodies of video game characters. Jack Black is a particular highlight, essentially playing an Instagram obsessed 18 year old girl.
The whole movie is pretty hilarious. It also carries a passive story of friendship and family, as the four very different people form a strong bond as the story progresses.
The action sequences are pretty thrilling as well, even if it is hard to not notice the excessive CGI at times.
WTTJ is a really enjoyable popcorn blockbuster. It's funny, silly, and has enough substance to it to get nicely invested in the characters. It even includes a subtle and tasteful nod to Robin Williams' character from 1995, and is a classy touch.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Spy (2015) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
McCarthy once again teams up with Director/Writer Paul Feig (Bridesmaids/The Heat) and the chemistry of their previous success shows.
To be clear, this film is not the greatest comedy ever, but the fact that there is a clear script and the story knows where it is headed helps keep the experience enjoyable throughout at it progresses. McCarthy is on point as a support agent who becomes field agent to find a nuclear weapon and catch the person responsible for the death of her agent/partner. This film makes fun of all the typical spy film tropes through the fact that our best agent is a large unassuming woman who keeps finding herself in the typical spy situations. She solves each of these situations in her own way which is nice and often hilarious to see.
Additionally, the rest of the cast offer up hilarious delivery across the board, including but not limited to Jason Statham. There are several scenes where Statham steals the show. It is great to see him play a super spy, a character we always see him play, but in a ridiculous over the top hilarious way. It was fun to watch and his chemistry with McCarthy is great. Additionally, Rose Byrne (Neighbors) plays well across from McCarthy as a villain who is sexy, dangerous bitch, who we cannot help like none the less. Her comedy timing works well with McCarthy and the two are great together on screen.
If you are looking to escape the summer heat and you are looking for a laugh, don’t skip out on Spy. So far it is the best of the comedy of the year and it is worth checking out, if not in the theater, then when it is out for home distribution.
Heidegger's Hut
Book
"This is the most thorough architectural 'crit' of a hut ever set down, the justification for which...