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A Clash of Lions (100 Years War, book 2)
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1346: Sent back to England in the wake of the tremendous victory at Crécy, Simon Merrivale is at...
Meditation Music for Zen Meditation Relaxation Yoga and Massage Therapy
Music and Health & Fitness
App
Meditation Music is a wonderful compilation of relaxation and meditation music by world-renowned...
The System Worked: How the World Stopped Another Great Depression
Book
International institutions, from the International Monetary Fund to the International Olympic...
Alarm Clock Pro
Utilities and Music
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Alarm Clock Pro turns your iPhone or iPod touch into a beautiful digital clock with gorgeous themes...
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Wake of Vultures in Books
Apr 27, 2018
Wake of Vultures was an exciting, fast paced, interesting read. It was fun and different for me. It wasn’t phenomenal. I would probably read the next one in the series, but I wouldn’t spend money on it.
The biggest problem I had with the story was I felt that it tried to deal with too many things at once. Racism, sexism, sexual identity, slavery, nudity, and religion are all important and heavy topics. All of them together in one YA urban fantasy novel? It’s a bit excessive. Even though I of all people understand that sometimes when a story comes to you, as an author, you can’t change your character! That’s just who they are! And don’t get me wrong, the story was great and I enjoyed listening to it, and I was totally caught up in it. But there were times when I would listen and something would come up and I’d be like “this is too much. this is ridiculous.” It felt like overkill.
That aside, I enjoyed the book and look forward to the sequel.
The biggest problem I had with the story was I felt that it tried to deal with too many things at once. Racism, sexism, sexual identity, slavery, nudity, and religion are all important and heavy topics. All of them together in one YA urban fantasy novel? It’s a bit excessive. Even though I of all people understand that sometimes when a story comes to you, as an author, you can’t change your character! That’s just who they are! And don’t get me wrong, the story was great and I enjoyed listening to it, and I was totally caught up in it. But there were times when I would listen and something would come up and I’d be like “this is too much. this is ridiculous.” It felt like overkill.
That aside, I enjoyed the book and look forward to the sequel.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) in Movies
Feb 28, 2019
Technically highly proficient adaptation of the Capote novella, as kooky free spirit/irritating self-absorbed freeloader Holly Golightly (Hepburn) wins the heart of George Peppard's young novelist. Probably looked old-fashioned even in 1961; absurdly romanticised depiction of New York (even the drug barons are charming old gentlemen) is effectively done and rather compelling.
Perhaps the problem is that the presentation of the emotional havoc Holly leaves in her wake is a bit too effective: I couldn't help feeling sorry for Doc (Buddy Ebsen), and wasn't inclined to let Hepburn's charm and good looks sway me (having met people like Holly Golightly for real may have prejudiced me a bit). I must be in the minority - for most people, the film clearly manages the trick of having its cake and eating it, by presenting Hepburn's character as trouble but making the audience fall in love with her anyway. Speaking of minorities, the grotesque racial caricature of Mickey Rooney's character is appalling - but hey, the theme song is nice.
Perhaps the problem is that the presentation of the emotional havoc Holly leaves in her wake is a bit too effective: I couldn't help feeling sorry for Doc (Buddy Ebsen), and wasn't inclined to let Hepburn's charm and good looks sway me (having met people like Holly Golightly for real may have prejudiced me a bit). I must be in the minority - for most people, the film clearly manages the trick of having its cake and eating it, by presenting Hepburn's character as trouble but making the audience fall in love with her anyway. Speaking of minorities, the grotesque racial caricature of Mickey Rooney's character is appalling - but hey, the theme song is nice.
Lenard (726 KP) rated Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) in Movies
Jun 2, 2019
Oh no there goes Boston?
Four years ago, Godzilla awoke and destroyed San Francisco. A small boy was trampled. While the mother worked on a way to communicate with monsters, the father ran away and went into wildlife photography. Now, working for Monarch, the monster hunting secret organization, mom is captured and her Orca device is being used to wake up all the monsters (I refuse to call them Titans). Plot twist: mom wants the monsters to destroy everything so the Earth can rebuild itself. Yes, another ecoterrorist plot. There is also some lesson about symbiosis and invasive species but that is for ecology class. Anyway, a few times, Godzilla shows up just in time to save the puny humans who have tried for 65 years to kill him. Why are all these doctors and professors so dumb in these Godzilla movies? Everything they do leads to another problem like they never consider the consequences of their action if it alleviates the present predicament.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2165 KP) rated The Stolen Chapters (Story Thieves, #2) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
When Owen and Kiel wake up, they are in the library with no memory of how they got there or even what happened in the last couple of weeks. Then someone in a mask shows up to announce that their friend Bethany is in danger, and if they don’t rescue her in the next couple of hours, they will never see her again. Then he sets the library on fire and calls the police on them. Can Owen and Kiel find Bethany, figure out who the villain is, and stop him?
This is the second in a series, and you don’t want to start here if you haven’t read the first. However, once you’ve read the first, you’ll absolutely love this book. There are lots of laughs and fun and surprises along the way, including a fantastic cameo by a character I grew up with. The book gets very meta, but just go with it because it is a ton of fun.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/08/book-review-stolen-chapters-by-james.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
This is the second in a series, and you don’t want to start here if you haven’t read the first. However, once you’ve read the first, you’ll absolutely love this book. There are lots of laughs and fun and surprises along the way, including a fantastic cameo by a character I grew up with. The book gets very meta, but just go with it because it is a ton of fun.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/08/book-review-stolen-chapters-by-james.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Godzilla 2000 (1999) in Movies
Mar 17, 2018 (Updated May 30, 2019)
Not quite the two-thousandth Godzilla movie, though it might feel that way to non-fans of this kind of thing. Aliens who've spent sixty million years asleep at the bottom of the sea wake up and try to steal Godzilla's DNA; things do not go according to plan, with bad results for everyone (except perhaps Godzilla himself).
The first Japanese movie to follow the reviled American Godzilla reboots the series again; you would have thought this was a splendid opportunity for Toho to show just how this sort of thing should be done. Alas no: there are some good bits here, and baddie monster Orga is quite impressive (though not in the film for long enough), but the film has the usual problem of not seeming to be that interested in Godzilla himself - it's not clear whether Godzilla is meant to be anti-hero or antagonist, either. Some duff CGI on display, too. Rather than being a showcase for the series, this is a dull and derivative movie that's not especially interesting to look at.
The first Japanese movie to follow the reviled American Godzilla reboots the series again; you would have thought this was a splendid opportunity for Toho to show just how this sort of thing should be done. Alas no: there are some good bits here, and baddie monster Orga is quite impressive (though not in the film for long enough), but the film has the usual problem of not seeming to be that interested in Godzilla himself - it's not clear whether Godzilla is meant to be anti-hero or antagonist, either. Some duff CGI on display, too. Rather than being a showcase for the series, this is a dull and derivative movie that's not especially interesting to look at.
The Ultimate Family: The Making of the Royal House of Windsor
Book
In recent times the British monarchy has become an 'ultimate family' of international superstars,...