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Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, #3)
Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, #3)
Cassandra Clare | 2013 | Paranormal, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
10
9.0 (26 Ratings)
Book Rating
Clockwork Princess is the stunning conclusion to Cassandra Clare’s the Infernal Devices trilogy. The pacing of the third book is much brisker than its predecessor and immediately drags you into the plot. There are also significantly more scenes with action in them, which help to break up the scenes that steadily move the story along. As with the previous books, the story is very character-driven and continues to bring further depth to each character’s personality.

Will continues to be my favourite focus of any scene with his witty comments and sense of humour. It was nice to see him play off his sister at times, because normally only Tessa can manage Will. Although they have been apart for many years they still have a wonderfully authentic relationship, like how easily she is able to get under his skin. Will and Jem’s parabatai relationship, as it was in the previous books, is so real that you can easily imagine the love they have for one another, the pain each feels when the other is hurt, and how they would do anything for each other.

It was nice to see the continued development of characters that we’ve grown to love, as well as the new faces that have joined the familiar at the Institute. The number of important characters does not ever feel overwhelming or confusing, as each has been given the time to become established and grow in the world that Cassandra Clare has created. I love each and every one of the characters because they are not only true but integral to the story as a whole.

Despite having read this entire series before and knowing what will happen – it is still so brilliantly written that it elicits myriad emotions throughout. Each character feels real and their lives affect your own. A tear slips down my face as one character experiences unbearable pain, while another comes at the thought of losing a character I’ve grown to love so much. A grin overtakes my face in light of the overwhelmingly happy news. The books that I have grown to love are the ones that speak to you, change you, and will forever stay with you.

Clockwork Princess is quite possibly the best series finale that I have read and certainly the best final book in a trilogy. Despite the book causing me to cry, multiple times, I never felt dissatisfied with the conclusion. The story comes to a climactic end, then Cassandra Clare takes the final chapter to pull everything together and the prologue to make me cry again. I loved re-reading this series so much and hope that you are inspired to read it as well.
  
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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Hyacinth Girls in Books

Dec 7, 2018  
HG
Hyacinth Girls
8
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
<i>This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Hyacinth Girls</i> is the beautifully written debut novel by Lauren Frankel. Rebecca is the guardian of thirteen-year-old Callie who, despite phone calls from school, believes Callie can do no wrong. When Callie is accused of bullying another student, Rebecca easily turns the story around to make Callie the victim.

The story begins with a prologue in which a billboard is being erected featuring Callie’s face and the words “Do you know your children?” This implies that something tragic happens to Callie, but as we read, we question exactly what this is. Was Callie involved with the bullying at school, or was she the one being bullied? Callie has not exactly had an easy life with both her parents dying when she was five, and therefore Rebecca often glosses over the true meanings of Callie’s behaviour, insisting that Callie is acting out of grief.

As well as the question of what happens to Callie, the readers are plagued with many other questions as the story goes on. For example: How did Callie’s mother, Joyce, die? How did her father die? Who is her father? Who is sending Rebecca letters from prison? These queries get answered toward the end of the book thus encouraging readers to continue in order to sate their curiosity.

It is interesting to see how an adult interprets children’s behaviour based upon their own lives and experiences as well as jumping to conclusion about the way the child is feeling. <i>Hyacinth Girls</i> provides both the adult and the child the opportunity to express their point of view. Rebecca begins by trying to understand what Callie is going through, and getting it wrong, as well as introducing the reader to the past and present situation. Callie, on the other hand, reveals the truth.

Although not essentially a young adult novel, Callie’s narrative makes it suitable for teenagers as well as adults. The theme of bullying is something many young people may be familiar with from either being a victim, the cause or a bystander. Parents, on the other hand, will easily relate to Rebecca as she tries to understand her best friends daughter.

Overall <i>Hyacinth Girls</i> is a great book with a very intense theme. It is so realistic that it creates a sense of shock as we realize that there are school children around the world experiencing all the things mentioned within the story. Hopefully this novel will open readers’ eyes and make them more aware of the things they do and how they affect other people.
  
Manhattan Night (Manhattan Nocturne) (2016)
Manhattan Night (Manhattan Nocturne) (2016)
2016 | Drama, Mystery
6
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Characters – Porter Wren is a well-respected journalist in New York, he has a comfortable job in his paper because of his reputation for telling people’s stories. His latest case however will get him looking into the murder mystery that will push himself to the limits when he gets involved with the victim’s wife. He narrates a lot of this which is the films way of trying to have a dig a modern society. Caroline is the wife whose husband has been killed, she seduces Porter, which plays her out to be a siren, only she soon feels like a victim with this character get caught in the middle we never know which side she is meant to be, one that gets what she wants or just a victims. Simon is the husband that has been murdered meaning we only see him in flashback of how the two were married. Lisa is the wife of Porter, she is doctor and from how Porter tells the story they don’t get along as they once did.

Performances – Adrien Brody does well in the leading role in the film even if he doesn’t make his character feel much different than any others from the similar genre. Yvonne Strahovski fits the seductive side to her character, though without being the strongest in the serious side of the story. Campbell Scott and Jennifer Beals just don’t get enough time to show their skills off in this film.

Story – The story here follows an investigation into an unsolved murder which brings the investigative reporter into a series of cover ups and conspiracy in true noir style. Using the noir style is clear here, the execution of the noir style doesn’t quite come off though because the siren doesn’t feel like a siren and by the end you will be left wondering just why the investigation wasn’t solved by the police in the first place, let alone why the reporter is even asked to investigate it. Nothing really comes out of solving the case which is the biggest disappointment from everything we are getting invested in.

Crime/Mystery – The crime side of this mystery does involve a murder that hasn’t been solved, it does have other crime elements involved too which just confuse the simply plot.

Settings – The film is set in New York and uses a secret house to show a place of peace in this busy city and how people can meet and connect through life.


Scene of the Movie – The truth.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The case felt pointless to solve.

Final Thoughts – This is a noir styled crime mystery that gives us a case that almost doesn’t need to be solved in the end.

 

Overall: Mystery that didn’t need solving.
  
Run Lola Run (1999)
Run Lola Run (1999)
1999 | Action, International, Drama
7
7.8 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Heart-racing!
If someone asked me to describe Run Lola Run in a phrase or a few words, I would say, “Think Groundhog Day if it were a heist movie.” Though not quite on the same level as Groundhog Day, Run Lola Run definitely provides its share of intriguing moments. The plot: Lola has twenty minutes to come up with the money her boyfriend lost or he will be killed by gangsters.

Acting: 10
Very believable performances all around. Franka Potente is great as Lola, really helping to add to the overall desperation of the story. As leads go, I was very impressed with how she kept me engaged in the story with her great command of the role. What she had to do was not easy in the slightest. I won’t go into detail as to why for fear of ruining the movie, but let’s just say she was asked to do a lot in a short amount of time.

Beginning: 5

Characters: 6
With everything happening at such a fast clip, they definitely didn’t waste time on character development. While this alone wouldn’t have been enough to propel this movie to high-quality status, it certainly would have helped. Without stronger characters, I felt like the movie lacked in true substance. Sure it was fun, but the end result didn’t leave room for me to care because I didn’t have strong characters to care about.

Cinematography/Visuals: 10

Conflict: 10
Time is the conflict here and that concept is used extremely well. Every moment feels dire and extreme. You honestly don’t know what’s going to happen next. The movie does an excellent job of keeping you guessing. Expect a lot of strong moments that will keep your heart racing!

Entertainment Value: 7

Memorability: 3
Personally, the movie didn’t do enough to stick out in my memory bank. Not that it wasn’t decent, but that was the problem for me: It was just decent. There were no over-the-top scenes that blew me away. I would be happy watching this once…and never again.

Pace: 10
Full use was made of the 81-minute runtime. Run Lola Run keeps you engaged from beginning to end. For what it’s worth, I don’t recall many dull parts, if any.

Plot: 2

Resolution: 10
Satisfying ending to tie the story up nicely. It was good, almost frustratingly so. If the story had been that level of quality, I would be in love with this movie.

Overall: 73
Don’t get me wrong, I can totally see why so many people are enamored with Run Lola Run. Unfortunately for me it was just ok. I would certainly recommend a one-time watch, but it doesn’t hold up as a classic for me.
  
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
2018 | Action, Animation, Sci-Fi
Character Development (5 more)
Story
Art Direction
Soundtrack + Effects
Comedy, Action and Emotions
True to the Source
I've just recently come home from the cinema, and I can gladly say this was an amazing film. I may be looking at it through rose-coloured glasses, with how excited I was when we got the first trailer, but I can say with all sincerity that this film made me laugh, cry and blew away my expectations.
The film crosses over some iconic and some more obscure Spider-Man universes and manages to do it in a unique and palatable way. Each iteration of Spider-Man has a specific animation/art style, along with a specific soundtrack and extremely talented voice actors (or at least actors whose voices were made for the role: this meaning John Mulaney). Seeing all of this creative work come together in one film truly is an experience that I don't want people to miss out on.
A key part I really want to go into more is the use of colour and focus. It visuals of the film are vivid and attune to the tone of what scene is playing out. You can see how saturation and the palettes themselves are used the highlight characters or actions and are especially useful with emotional scenes. These emotions though are presented more with the composition which is consistently used to call back previous scenes in a subtle way that I absolutely adore.

The characters are very much real, most specifically in Miles and his family relationships. We see a real family dynamic that works - if I could point out a scene from a few trailers as an example, when Miles' father takes him to school and asks for him to say 'I love you' back really shows this realistic family that you could picture actually existing in the real world. The lack of a really existing romantic subplot is also something I love - the focus is on coming to terms with the fact that Miles isn't alone, that no one is. Without this romance, the film is just as good as any other, possibly even better with the fact that our potential romantic interest actually doesn't turn out to be.
The next thing that is certainly huge for any die-hard Marvel fans is the fact that it's very much true to the comic books. In the way its told, the way it's presented, and the actual story, the characters are all recognizable both by appearance and by their personalities/behaviours.
The only negative I can find for the film isn't even part of the film itself: Though the cinema gave warning for epilepsy, the film itself does not. While I'm sure theatres are required to give warning, it may be a good idea to give an on-screen warning, especially when the opening logo itself could easily trigger epilepsy.
Overall, I wish I could go back and watch it over and over, so I think most people will enjoy this film, no matter what their knowledge of the MCU is. An engaging story told in a creative way and with an incredibly hilarious after credits scene - worth a watch from everyone.
  
Kill List (2012)
Kill List (2012)
2012 | Horror, Mystery
8
6.3 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Characters – Jay is the former hitmen that is trying to move away from the job, one year after his final job he is talked into one more job which will give him enough money to cover the financial problems his family is going through. The job starts simple enough only for it to turn him into a paranoid angry man who is taking everything personally. Shel is Jay’s wife, she is frustrated with the fact he has spent most of their money forcing him to return to the work he was meant to leave behind, always arguing with him even though it is clear the love between the two is strong. Sam is the innocent young child of the two. Gal is the partner and best friend of Jay, he is the one that tries to keep his head on his shoulders, he sees his friend losing his mind and puts him back on track for the most part.

Performances – Neil Maskell in the leading role is great because we see how he makes us feel as unsettled as his character is meant to be through the film. Michael Smiley as the main supporting character and he helps us understand how things needed to become calm through the bad times. MyAnna Buring as the wife is good without getting that moment that standout.

Story – The story follows two hitmen that must take one job which seems simple only to take a dramatic twist along the way. This is a story which starts out on a path which you know the two hitmen are not the nice guys and soon things just get weird with every encounter things start to play out like they have never dealt with before which only grabs the audience to want to know what will happen next to the characters. this gives us an unsettling feeling from start to finish with a conclusion that will leave you jaw-dropped in true surprise with how everything ended up. This is from director Ben Wheatley who has always managed to give his stories a unique feel, this is why people will rave over this director for years.

Crime/Horror – This movie takes us into the crime world in which Jay and Gal operate in as hitmen, we get to see how they go about this job, conduct kills, clean ups and get on with life. The horror comes from early hints in the film before showing us the true nature to everything going on which will become horrifying,

Settings – The film shows us the settings used by the hitmen to be everyday locations where the predators they believe they are killing operate without anyone knowing. This helps us understand the dangers of not knowing everything about our neighbours.


Scene of the Movie – That ending.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Jay isn’t the most likeable character.

Final Thoughts – This is easily one of the most shocking and unsettling films you will see, it has suspense throughout and an ending you will NEVER forget.

 

Overall: Suspenseful treat.
  
El Dorado (1967)
El Dorado (1967)
1967 | Action, Drama, Western
Characters – Jay is the former hitmen that is trying to move away from the job, one year after his final job he is talked into one more job which will give him enough money to cover the financial problems his family is going through. The job starts simple enough only for it to turn him into a paranoid angry man who is taking everything personally. Shel is Jay’s wife, she is frustrated with the fact he has spent most of their money forcing him to return to the work he was meant to leave behind, always arguing with him even though it is clear the love between the two is strong. Sam is the innocent young child of the two. Gal is the partner and best friend of Jay, he is the one that tries to keep his head on his shoulders, he sees his friend losing his mind and puts him back on track for the most part.

Performances – Neil Maskell in the leading role is great because we see how he makes us feel as unsettled as his character is meant to be through the film. Michael Smiley as the main supporting character and he helps us understand how things needed to become calm through the bad times. MyAnna Buring as the wife is good without getting that moment that standout.

Story – The story follows two hitmen that must take one job which seems simple only to take a dramatic twist along the way. This is a story which starts out on a path which you know the two hitmen are not the nice guys and soon things just get weird with every encounter things start to play out like they have never dealt with before which only grabs the audience to want to know what will happen next to the characters. this gives us an unsettling feeling from start to finish with a conclusion that will leave you jaw-dropped in true surprise with how everything ended up. This is from director Ben Wheatley who has always managed to give his stories a unique feel, this is why people will rave over this director for years.

Crime/Horror – This movie takes us into the crime world in which Jay and Gal operate in as hitmen, we get to see how they go about this job, conduct kills, clean ups and get on with life. The horror comes from early hints in the film before showing us the true nature to everything going on which will become horrifying,

Settings – The film shows us the settings used by the hitmen to be everyday locations where the predators they believe they are killing operate without anyone knowing. This helps us understand the dangers of not knowing everything about our neighbours.


Scene of the Movie – That ending.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Jay isn’t the most likeable character.

Final Thoughts – This is easily one of the most shocking and unsettling films you will see, it has suspense throughout and an ending you will NEVER forget.

 

Overall: Suspenseful treat.
  
BO
Blade of secrets
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Title: Blade of Secrets
Author: Tricia Levenseller

This book and it's cover were both amazing. Thank you to Bookishfirst for sending me a copy of it to review.

The book starts off as Ziva a magical bladesmoth dealing with a Karen customer who hurt himself on his blade.

Quote: "It's not nearly as hurt as your pride else you would be at a healers and not here." Page 5. I agree this is very true and he is acting like a two year old which I found hilarious.

Quote: "How can a man who injures himself with his own weapon be dangerous?" Page 7. This had me laughing.

Than the story went on to Ziva meeting Petrik who specializes in ancient magic and wants her help writing the book he's working on. He's an important character in this book so pay attention. I didn't trust him at first he gave bad vibes but in the end he was on Zivas side.

Quote: "This mace steals the breathe of surrounding enemies! It can kill without even touching an opponent, and yet it sits above the mantel as though it were a-a-decoration!" I agree I would have been mad to putting a good magical weapon to no use. Can just use a normal non-magicked mace for a decoration. Ansel goes to try to kiss her and doesn't understand no means no. Quote: "You think saying a few nice words to me earns you a kiss? That's not how it works." This is 100% true and many people need to learn to understand this. He goes on to have a fit but his parents end up believing her. She also meets Warlord Kymora Avedin during this time. She can't be trusted and I also found it funny Ansel didn't get his way.

When Ziva is making the sword for Kymora she sees Kellyn who is important in this story for the first time. The swords magic is made from her feelings for him and her telling it all her secrets. Which was amazing I loved it that part was intense. When showing Kymora it cuts Kymora and Ziva finds out she can hear the victims secrets when it cuts them.

Two of Kymoras secrets are:

Quote "This weapon will make me unbeatable in combat." Which can be a good thing if your a good guy she's not.

Quote "I will crush Ghadra's pathetic rulers and reunite the regions under one rule once more: my own. The people will be enslaved to my will. The royal family will all bow before me. Right before I remove their heads." This is where I couldn't put it down. For the safety of her country and sister they decided to run. Their journey was fun and interesting. I loved it. Ziva and Kellyn fall for each other and she finally opens up about her anxiety which I can relate to. I loved this story and can't wait to read the next one. It has an amazing but sad cliffhanger ending.

P.S. It's on my favorites shelf now.