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Billie Wichkan (118 KP) rated Conviction in Books
May 22, 2019
From 'the woman who may be Britains finest living crime novelist' (Daily Telegraph), Conviction stars a strong female protagonist who is obsessed by true-crime podcasts and decides, one day, to investigate one of the unsolved crimes herself.
Its just a normal morning for Anna McDonald. Gym kits, packed lunches, getting everyone up and ready. Until she opens the front door to her best friend, Estelle. Anna turns to see her own husband at the top of the stairs, suitcase in hand. Theyre leaving together and theyre taking Annas two daughters with them.
Left alone in the big, dark house, Anna cant think, she cant take it in. With her safe, predictable world shattered, she distracts herself with a story: a true-crime podcast. Theres a sunken yacht in the Mediterranean, multiple murders and a hint of power and corruption. Then Anna realises she knew one of the victims in another life. She is convinced she knows what happened. Her past, so carefully hidden until now, will no longer stay silent.
This is a murder she cant ignore, and she throws herself into investigating the case. But little does she know, her past and present lives are about to collide, sending everything she has worked so hard to achieve into freefall.
This is my first read by Denise Mina and it won't be my last.
What a brilliant read this was. Wow what an opening this had with it.
This definitely psychological thriller and very chilling.
Loved the writing style and the plot of this story.
Really enjoyed the characters and couldn't stop reading til finished as I just had to know.
Recommend reading!
My thanks to Random House U.K. Vintage Publishing for an eARC via NetGalley and this is my honest voluntary review.
Its just a normal morning for Anna McDonald. Gym kits, packed lunches, getting everyone up and ready. Until she opens the front door to her best friend, Estelle. Anna turns to see her own husband at the top of the stairs, suitcase in hand. Theyre leaving together and theyre taking Annas two daughters with them.
Left alone in the big, dark house, Anna cant think, she cant take it in. With her safe, predictable world shattered, she distracts herself with a story: a true-crime podcast. Theres a sunken yacht in the Mediterranean, multiple murders and a hint of power and corruption. Then Anna realises she knew one of the victims in another life. She is convinced she knows what happened. Her past, so carefully hidden until now, will no longer stay silent.
This is a murder she cant ignore, and she throws herself into investigating the case. But little does she know, her past and present lives are about to collide, sending everything she has worked so hard to achieve into freefall.
This is my first read by Denise Mina and it won't be my last.
What a brilliant read this was. Wow what an opening this had with it.
This definitely psychological thriller and very chilling.
Loved the writing style and the plot of this story.
Really enjoyed the characters and couldn't stop reading til finished as I just had to know.
Recommend reading!
My thanks to Random House U.K. Vintage Publishing for an eARC via NetGalley and this is my honest voluntary review.
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) in Movies
Nov 18, 2019
A True Classic
Not that we don’t already know what E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial is about but: A young boy finds himself in trouble with special agents when he befriends a stranded alien.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 10
Characters: 10
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
Steven Spielberg does a wonderful job with achieving more with less. He doesn’t shoot for break-your-neck special effects, rather he gives it to you in glimpses. We see the lights from E.T.’s spaceship, but we only see the actual spaceship flying for a second or two. E.T.’s ability to make things take flight is never overdone and always used in necessary circumstances. Outside of the special effects, there are a number of touches here and there, again small nuances, that make this film great. One of my favorites occurs when E.T. sees a kid in Yoda costume and starts following him.
Conflict: 10
Entertainment Value: 10
Memorability: 10
These scenes have been recounted and retold in a number of different ways. This movie set the precedent on how we see and interact with life outside of Earth. The relationship between Elliott and E.T. is unforgettable.
Pace: 10
Spielberg is a true master of storytelling as he aces pacing yet again. There are no dull moments and the few lulls are there for a reason. Exposition and character development are handled within the context of the moving story itself as it should be.
Plot: 10
Resolution: 10
Overall: 100
I had someone tell me once that not only was E.T. not that great, but it was pretty terrible in retrospect. My reply: What crack are you smoking? This movie is not only great, but it’s one of the all-time greats. Believe it.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 10
Characters: 10
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
Steven Spielberg does a wonderful job with achieving more with less. He doesn’t shoot for break-your-neck special effects, rather he gives it to you in glimpses. We see the lights from E.T.’s spaceship, but we only see the actual spaceship flying for a second or two. E.T.’s ability to make things take flight is never overdone and always used in necessary circumstances. Outside of the special effects, there are a number of touches here and there, again small nuances, that make this film great. One of my favorites occurs when E.T. sees a kid in Yoda costume and starts following him.
Conflict: 10
Entertainment Value: 10
Memorability: 10
These scenes have been recounted and retold in a number of different ways. This movie set the precedent on how we see and interact with life outside of Earth. The relationship between Elliott and E.T. is unforgettable.
Pace: 10
Spielberg is a true master of storytelling as he aces pacing yet again. There are no dull moments and the few lulls are there for a reason. Exposition and character development are handled within the context of the moving story itself as it should be.
Plot: 10
Resolution: 10
Overall: 100
I had someone tell me once that not only was E.T. not that great, but it was pretty terrible in retrospect. My reply: What crack are you smoking? This movie is not only great, but it’s one of the all-time greats. Believe it.
TM
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Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated Close Encounters of the Girl Kind (Geekhood, #1) in Books
Jun 24, 2019
Read my original review on my blog: https://bookmarkedreading.wordpress.com/2015/10/01/book-review-geekhood/
Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind is a greatly humorous, relatable book about the struggles of a 14-year-old Geek.
Archie, a true Geek to his core, has a lot going on in his life. His parents are divorced, his step-dad is a Tosser, the only thing his friends are good at is the Game, and, to top it all off, he is struck by surprise by a Close Encounter with a Beautiful Goth.
After Sarah tries to help him battle his problems and insecurities, Archie replaces his snarky interior monologue with the voice of his psychic self, trudging alone along the path to psychic alignment. But things don't go quite as he hopes, and he soon makes a serious mess of things. How has it all gone so wrong?!
When he no longer wants to be associated with the Geeks he once called friends, he starts to realise that maybe this isn't what he wants after all. After so long of trying to fit in and fly under the radar, it turns out that maybe doing what you love is enough to keep you truly happy.
Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind is a hilarious book, following Archie's combat with problems that are well-known among us teens. I love the script of the interior monologue, and I think a lot of people can appreciate Archie's attempts to mask his true feelings and use of his interior monologue to express himself without others hearing. Definitely a good book, which I enjoyed far more than I expected! A strong 4 stars from me.
Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind is a greatly humorous, relatable book about the struggles of a 14-year-old Geek.
Archie, a true Geek to his core, has a lot going on in his life. His parents are divorced, his step-dad is a Tosser, the only thing his friends are good at is the Game, and, to top it all off, he is struck by surprise by a Close Encounter with a Beautiful Goth.
After Sarah tries to help him battle his problems and insecurities, Archie replaces his snarky interior monologue with the voice of his psychic self, trudging alone along the path to psychic alignment. But things don't go quite as he hopes, and he soon makes a serious mess of things. How has it all gone so wrong?!
When he no longer wants to be associated with the Geeks he once called friends, he starts to realise that maybe this isn't what he wants after all. After so long of trying to fit in and fly under the radar, it turns out that maybe doing what you love is enough to keep you truly happy.
Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind is a hilarious book, following Archie's combat with problems that are well-known among us teens. I love the script of the interior monologue, and I think a lot of people can appreciate Archie's attempts to mask his true feelings and use of his interior monologue to express himself without others hearing. Definitely a good book, which I enjoyed far more than I expected! A strong 4 stars from me.
Elli H Burton (1288 KP) rated After Earth (2013) in Movies
Aug 22, 2019
Premise is interesting. (1 more)
Keeps you on your toes at times.
It's a bit boring at times. (3 more)
Will Smith's not really a presence as much as he should be.
The character progression is non existent with them all.
I don't mind either Jaiden or Will Smith, but feel like this wasn't suited too them. They felt restricted.
Will Smith
Contains spoilers, click to show
As Will Smith is a household name, more often than not you know him in some kind of comedy role, if not he has more presence on camera to show his true acting range. For a character that is hardly seen, I don't think this role suited him. Jaiden suited the character to an extent but when it came to the ghosting part, he was able to ghost so quickly, he was terrified like 10 minutes ago. He doesn't gradually learn to be brave it just happens which isn't true to his character. I actually don't mind watching this film, it has it's good bits. The relationship between them is clear, the father/son role definitely suits them (sounds obvious but not always the case with father/son actors). They manage to put a strain on their relationship in the film as opposed to in real life they are seriously close. The actual storyline is good, noticed how other films after (and perhaps before but I haven't seen any that came before) about monsters being blind but can sense smell, heat, touch and in this case, fear. It also had an underlying worldwide issue - earth turns on humans. Which I'm not surprised with the way we have treated it. I actually remember saying after watching this in the cinema that we really ought to start being more caring to the world. You never know it might happen!