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Ali A (80 KP) rated The Meadows in Books

Sep 11, 2023  
The Meadows
The Meadows
Stephanie Oakes | 2023 | Dystopia, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Trigger Warnings: conversion therapy, homophobia

Every youth hopes to get a letter to attend one of the places where only the best and brightest go to be even better and brighter: the Estuary, the Glades, the Meadows…

When Eleanor is accepted to go to the Meadows, it means her escape from the Cove and a hard life by the sea. But, though the Meadows is filled with beautiful and wonderful things, it hoards dark secrets: its purpose is to reform its students from their attractions, to show them that the way of life is only possible through their way. Maybe Eleanor starts to believe, but then she meets Rose, and everything changes.

A year after leaving the Meadows, Eleanor and her friends are on the outside, living back in society - but not everything is as they hoped. Eleanor is an adjudicator, someone who makes sure former students haven’t strayed from the lives they were trained to live. But the past isn’t letting go of Eleanor and as secrets unravel, Eleanor must fight against everything she has been taught to be, especially if she can find the girl that she lost.

I originally was interested in this title when I saw it on BookishFirst because it was being marketed as “a queer, YA Handmaid's Tale meets Never Let Me Go” and I was all about that. I also love a good dystopian novel so this was really right up my alley.

That being said, I absolutely loved and devoured this novel over the course of the weekend when I didn’t have the interruption of work. The world building is intriguing and the “perfect” society is everything but (aren’t they all). The characters were also complex and engrossing - even the ones I wasn’t the biggest fans of, I still wanted them to succeed.

I absolutely recommend this book to those not only those who love dystopian novels, but those who want a page turning science fiction with queer characters.

*Thank you Dial Books and BookishFirst for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
  
Pitch Perfect 3 (2017)
Pitch Perfect 3 (2017)
2017 | Comedy
comedy (0 more)
soundtrack not as good as expected (0 more)
Comedy classic with mediocre music
Pitch Perfect is back! Expect nothing but jaw-dropping harmonies, startling costumes and classic comedy. The third and final instalment of the Barden Bellas story finishes in aca-style!

The comedy follows the reunification of the Bellas as they embark on a USO tour, entertaining the troops in Europe. In classic Bella-style, the tour is also a competition between the acts to open the show for DJ Khaled during the final show in France.

From the get-go, we are bombarded with endless classic comedy moments. Take for instance, the awe-inspiring yacht opening and the explosive escape.

Despite a confusing start to the film, questions are later answered. Why are they on a boat? Why did it explode? It eventually makes sense. The story then makes a swift flashback to a few weeks before the story began.

Beca (Anna Kendrick) follows her dreams as a music producer. The rest of the Bellas, bar Emily (Hailee Steinfield) continue to pursue their careers

The cast is flawless. Its predecessors clearly proved this. Each and every film is underpinned by the cast's chemistry. Thankfully, Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) is still as funny as ever. Amy also meets her match as Lily (Hana Mae Lee) proves to be quite the comedic character.

We also see new appearances. The likes of Ruby Rose (Calamity) stars as the front lady of the band 'Evermoist' (arguably the best and worst band name ever).

We couldn't miss the soundtrack (it is a musical). It is fantastic. However, it has to be the weakest of the three.

The Bellas are almost the only artists on the tour who are acapella. The majority of the other groups play instruments, except in another classic riff-off. The music couldn't have ended a more 'perfect' way. A beautiful rendition of George Michael's Freedom bought a tear to the eye.



The cinematography was equally as good as other films. We even get to see numerous surprises from Fat Amy (explosive scenes).

We even see a montage of sorts during a performance on tour. The camera shots also seemed to fit together, making the film flow and avoiding a yawn.

There are also some great side plots. From comical to the dramatic likes of explosions, the action does at points seem unnecessary.

We were also treated moments of pure comedy gold! A classic but predictable scene occurred in DJ Khaled's hotel suite.

Pitch Perfect 3 is a great finale to the end of the series. It roads the trilogy off in the 'perfect' way. Have you seen the first two? If so, we urge you to watch the third instalment. Have you not seen either? We advise you to binge watch them all!
  
Kidnapping Mr. Heineken (2015)
Kidnapping Mr. Heineken (2015)
2015 | Action, Drama, Mystery
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Story: Kidnapping Freddy Heineken starts as we follow our five criminals Cor Van Hout (Sturgess), Willem (Worthington), Cat (Kwanten), Spikes (Eeuwen) and Brakes (Cocquerel) who have always been looking for a way to make money quickly instead of getting real jobs in Holland. Their latest plan is to kidnap beer tycoon Freddy Heineken (Hopkins) and collecting the ransom.

With the plan in place the kidnapping goes well the wait for the ransom is what takes the time and tests the strength of the kidnappers over the victims as we follow what could be the undoing of the men.

 

Thoughts on Kidnapping Freddy Heineken

 

Characters – Cor Van Hout is the leader of the gang, he brings his men together to complete the jobs with some failing and others not, he comes up with the latest job while his personal life is about to hit the highs a father could experience. Willem is the hot head of the group who will go past the marks to make the job get done and he could become the biggest problem involved. Freddy Heineken is the beer tycoon that has become the target of this men and he stays extremely calm through his ordeal trying to friend his kidnappers too.

Performance – Jim Sturgess is strong in the leading role of this film throughout feeling like the rest would listen to his every word. Sam Worthington is good in the loose cannon role too. Anthony Hopkins is as always the star of the show here as you want to see all of his scenes.

Story – The story is based on the true story of what happened when a group of criminals kidnap the tycoon and how they were not completely sure things would work and how things could go wrong. This is good because it doesn’t go down a slick as the best heist movies but is also calm enough to feel like it is based on real people human errors through the heist.

Action/Crime – There are a couple of good car chases through the film which do make up the action side of things while the whole story is about the crime being committed.

Settings – The streets involved in Amsterdam show us how tight the car chases can be and escape routes by more than just road, we do feel like this is authentic with how everything unfolds during the crime.

Scene of the Movie – Freddy’s orders.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The clear choice for a problem is having some Dutch cast members but the leads are not.

Final Thoughts – This is one of the films that didn’t get much talk when it came out but I don’t understand why, it is an enjoyable and one film that is worth watching for all the heist fans out there.

 

Overall: Good heist film.
  
    Swim Out

    Swim Out

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    Dive into the relaxing and refreshing atmosphere of Swim Out, a strategic, turn-based puzzle game,...