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Mel Rodriguez recommended GoodFellas (1990) in Movies (curated)

 
GoodFellas (1990)
GoodFellas (1990)
1990 | Crime, Drama, Thriller

"I grew up in kind of a rough neighborhood and there was kind of this whole gangster thing, too. I think that’s the opening line: “As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster.” And I think there was a part of me that felt the same way. I just loved Robert De Niro’s work, all those guys really. Man, the acting, and everything about that movie — almost flawless film. And I’ve loved all of Scorsese’s films. Just his working relationship with Robert De Niro, from Mean Streets on; there are so many movies that I love with the two of them. I feel like everything kind of comes together in Goodfellas in some way. Goodfellas has kind of got it all. That was probably one of my favorite films as a kid, so I carried a picture of Goodfellas in my wallet. With De Niro and Pesci and Liotta, it was like, you know, the trinity [laughing]. I mean, really, Goodfellas was kind of like my Star Wars [laughing]. Really just the pacing of that film, everything, just how realistic. And at times it’s just jarring how violent it is. And hilarious too. It’s f—ing hilarious. I mean, I know it’s not funny that you would wrap a telephone cord around a guy’s neck. That’s not funny at all! The whole situation is terrible! But I think on some level, really, you kind of care for these guys and I think that’s what Scorsese is able to do in his films, is make these guys so human that we are able to somehow relate to them and, on some level, even kind of root for them, even though some of the stuff they do is just really despicable. I mean, the stuff that Joe Pesci does is just awful and I don’t think you really necessarily root for him; he’s kind of a hot head. The thing is, obviously, I know these things are bad. I do know how life can go one way or another, and that it’s not all just black and white, and there are many different situations and twists and turns in life. I feel these things sometimes and say, “Oh wow, I knew a guy like that. And I knew a guy like that.” And so I am very into gangster movies just because I feel, in some ways, I don’t think I have the heart for it, honestly. I’d have a nervous breakdown as a gangster. I’d be a very nervous gangster. I’d be the gangster that pops a lot of Klonopin."

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Kyera (8 KP) rated Hunted in Books

Jan 31, 2018  
Hunted
Hunted
Meagan Spooner | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
7.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is both a very unique and fairly faithful retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast fairytale. Hunted takes place in Russia and our main character Yeva (Beauty) is a huntress. She is headstrong, kind, caring, has a bit of a temper and can be vengeful - but overall I quite liked her character.

Like the classic tale, Beauty is the youngest of three sisters and daughter of a merchant. In some versions, she also has three brothers and her sisters are unkind - but that is not the case in this retelling. They live in a nice house until a shipping gamble costs them everything. They are forced to move to their father's old hunting cabin, which is a three-day walk from their current home. Her father used to be a hunter, but his wife believed that it was too dangerous and asked him to stop. Despite that, as a child Beauty was allowed to go hunting with her father and learned to love it. Unfortunately, as she grew her father decided that it was not the way a lady should purport herself and no longer allowed her to hunt.

After the loss of their fortune, Yeva and her family must learn to make due with less. Her father takes up hunting again and goes off to catch game for them to store for the winter. Unfortunately, when he returns he is distraught and swears that the Beast he saw when he was younger is stalking him. When he doesn't return from his second trip, Yeva sets out to find him and this is where the story adopts some significantly different elements from the original tale.

In the original, the father enters a castle and accepts his host's hospitality, but upon leaving takes a single rose for his daughter Beauty and is told he has a choice. He shall either be condemned to death for it or he must stay in the castle. While these are not the events that lead to Yeva's time in the castle, nevertheless she ends up imprisoned there. Over time, she and the Beast grow to know one another - but her treatment isn't as kind overall as the original.

I really enjoyed the tales that Yeva told while she was in captivity because they built the lore of the world and gave us a look into what the characters had grown up listening to. Although Yeva spent most of her time as the castle, I do wish that we were able to get to know the other characters like her sisters a little better. They seem very kind, but relatively one-dimensional. As a result of the Beast's curse, I don't feel like we got to know him as well as we could have. I would have loved to watch him grow and connect with him as Yeva does so that I could feel that </i>yes, they could fall in love.</i> I liked Yeva, but her dog Doe-Eyes was probably my favourite character. The dog was so cheerful and loyal that you couldn't help but love her.

The world that Yeva knows is not one we get to see very often in young adult literature. It is a melding of Russia, with its unique environment and folklore, with a more fantastical world. Yeva tells tales of the Firebird, sees a creature that is half dragon and half woman, and learns to listen to the music of that other world. The world itself reminds me a lot of the Grisha trilogy, although the plots and characters are nothing alike. I would love to experience more of the lore that built this enchanted world in the form of novellas.

I would highly recommend this to young adult/teen readers who enjoy fairytales and retellings, especially ones with a unique take on the tale that includes a lot of culture and lore.
  
Black Witch Magic (Paranormal Hunters #1)
Black Witch Magic (Paranormal Hunters #1)
Mila Nicks | 2020 | Paranormal, Romance
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Black Witch Magic is the first book in the Paranormal Hunters series and we are introduced to Aiden (the paranormal hunter) and Selene (the witch). Aiden is the sceptic who tries to debunk paranormal mysteries. Selene is the witch cursed never to leave her hometown or find/keep love.

Although I enjoyed this story for the most part, there are some parts that just didn't work for me. For a start, the whole build-up to the wicked witch Luna? What did she actually do that was that bad? Okay, so I know she slept with someone who was engaged but is that it? Why did she get all the flak and not the other witch who disappeared at the same time? And for that matter, why were the Blackstones black-balled? There were no explanations about them or their family tree or even what happened to make them the scape-goats in the first place.

I did enjoy the differences given between being a Lunar or a Green Witch although I also found it a bit strange that Bibi, Noelle and Selene didn't seem to know anything else about being a witch other than what they made up themselves. Bibi and Noelle aren't cursed to stay within the town limits but it reads like they are.

There were other parts in the writing that were repeated over and over - Selene's address is one example. How many addresses does she have? Just the one so why is it repeated instead of just saying she went 'home'? Also, I wear glasses and I can tell you, if my glasses fell down my nose as often as Selene's did, I'd be going back to the Optometrist and getting the fitting sorted out. 'Fleshy thighs' is another description that was repeated too often for my comfort.

There are a few supporting characters in this book. Noelle and Eddie both have their own issues but neither of them come across as particularly tactful or sensitive to their so-called best friends. I thought Officer Gustin would play a bigger part than he did but he came good in the end.

This is classed as adult but most of the time the only thing described is the kissing. There are a couple of scenes that are steamy but they still don't go into major detail so I didn't think they were that bad.

The angst level is fairly low in here with most of it being between Eddie and Aiden and the filming of the episode. Or between Noelle and Selene when they don't agree on things but that's about it.

Overall, this was a light, entertaining read with some minor things I couldn't help but take notice of. It turns out this will be part of a series/serial and ends with a "To Be Continued." If this is what you are looking for then I can recommend this read.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
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ClareR (5996 KP) rated The Prophets in Books

Jan 5, 2021  
The Prophets
The Prophets
Robert Jones Jr. | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry, LGBTQ+
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I’ve agonised over writing something about this. How can whatever I write possibly do this book any justice? It’s beautiful, it’s haunting and it’s terrible. I don’t mean that it’s bad-terrible. I mean that it’s a book that I wish never had to be written. What is terrible, is mans inhumanity to man.
The story centres around the slaves on the Elizabeth Plantation (also known as ‘Empty’ to the slaves), and in particular, Samuel and Isaiah. They are betrayed by the other slaves, as if by revealing their love, it will make their lives safer. Of course this is not the case, as we see when we read the chapters centred around some of the other slaves. We learn about the inhumane treatment of the slaves by their immoral white owners (or toubabs, as they are called by their black slaves). I felt that the white people in this book had a mad, mentally unhinged quality about them: after all, how else could you reconcile treating human beings worse than animals?
I found the chapters written from the African people’s perspective, as they were free then captured and imprisoned, so interesting. It made them even more real to me. These were real people (as opposed to the animals that they were seen as by the slavers) with families, traditions, lives, loves and beliefs. The scenes on board the slave ships were harrowing.
It has taken me over a week to tackle this review. This book really affected me deeply, and there were many times that I had to put the book down and walk away. Then, I would feel guilty that I had the luxury of doing just that, unlike the slaves who lived every moment of their lives as some white mans possession to do with as he saw fit.
I can’t believe that this is a debut novel. The writing is beautiful, even in the most horrific moments. The magical elements add a suggestion of hope and the indomitable spirit of these people. And the ending is just perfection. I’m sure that this book will win awards - it SHOULD win - and I’m glad that I’ve had the opportunity to read it.
Many thanks to the publisher for granting me access to this book via NetGalley. It has been a privilege to read it.
  
Heartbreak for Hire
Heartbreak for Hire
Sonia Hartl | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A wreck of a romance
Brinkley Saunders tells everyone she works as an administrative assistant. But she really works at
Heartbreak for Hire, an undercover operation that specializes in a variety of revenge schemes for jilted lovers, annoyed coworkers, and more. She dropped out of grad school in the aftermath of a disastrous relationship--much to the despair of her mother--but the job helps Brinkley save for her dream of opening her own art gallery. However, when her boss Margo announces she's hiring male Heartbreakers for the first time, Brinkley starts questioning her purpose, especially when one of the new hires is a target she was paid to take down. Markus Cavanaugh is an adjunct anthropology professor at University of Chicago. He doesn't seem like the backstabbing academic she was told to go after... and as she gets to know Markus more and continues to question her role as a Heartbreaker, Brinkley realizes a lot of things aren't what they seem.

"I had my career, my cat, control. The Three C's of avoiding that hopeless cycle of loving someone who didn't love me back."

I feel awful, but this book just did not work for me at all. I almost didn't finish it, but I really try to complete all my ARCs. Ironically I hated most of it except the end, which was actually pretty good. But most of this one had me cringing. Brinkley's job is terrible and makes no sense--I couldn't even see how Heartbreakers and the division of "Egos, Players, Cheaters, and Grifters" would even possibly translate to the real world. Her boss is absolutely awful.

"If we trained men to break women's hearts, what did that say about our mission? What did that say about us?"

The book is filled with ridiculous contrived fights and plot-lines, and I didn't buy the relationship between her and Markus at all. They like each other, hate each other, rinse and repeat, with a bunch of silly "twists" thrown in over and over to keep them apart. Do something and stop whining (this applies equally to them both). It was just boring and stupid, and I couldn't handle all the bad decisions. If there's going to be conflict, I want it to be realistic, and if there's going to be romance, I want to buy into the couple and feel a genuine affection toward them. But with everyone being so hateful to each other, an entire profession created toward tearing people down, and a bunch of random contrived obstacles thrown up to keep Markus and Brinkley apart... I just couldn't handle it.

A lot of other people enjoyed this one far more than me, so hopefully you will too.

I received a copy of this book from Gallery Books and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
  
So Sad Today: Personal Essays
So Sad Today: Personal Essays
Melissa Broder | 2016 | Biography
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
So Sad Today is a compilation of essays by Melissa Broder that narrates the interior monlologue of a person with mental ilness trying to survive and handle and deal with day to day life. Broder deals with a mariad of issues from sex and sexual identity, to masturbation, to anxiety attacks, to an addiction to the internet.

It was fascinating, enlightlening, entertaining, and relatable. It was violently truthful and brutally honest.

There are two sides of me responding to this book in two different ways.

The fememist inside me wants every young person to read this book for three reasons:

1. you are not alone in what you think it sweirdness and strangeness.

2. Here is someone who has experienced things you are curious about. Live vicariously throug her and learn from her mistakes but do not make the same choices.

3. This book is both a journal and a love letter, and it’s from her to you, so read it understanding it as both.

The other part of me sees the stuff she’s dealing with and ache for her. Broder is dealing with issues and trying to answer questions with no guidance and no purpose and no direction. It’s a battle I’ve never had to fight because I don’t seek for my fulfillment from me, I find it in my identity in Christ. And that part of me that sees her hungry and seeking and lost and confused really wants to take her out to coffee. So Melissa, if you get a chance to read this, I’d like to take you to coffee. Or we could just text. :)

Content/recommendation: mature and adult content. Lots of swearing and sex. 16+
  
Return to Oz (The Falken Chronicles Book 3)
Return to Oz (The Falken Chronicles Book 3)
Piers Platt | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Quick read (3 more)
A wrong is righted
Sirio Falken
Fantastic ending
Piers Platt did it again!
Holy moly! Piers Platt can most definitely write a great story!!!
I read straight through this one in less than 4 hours and I highly recommend The Falken Chronicles to anyone looking for an awesome sci-fi adventure!
Return to Oz had a perfect balance of action and suspense and left me with an array of emotions at the end.
I absolutely love the transformation of Sirio Falken throughout the entire series, but in this one, we get to really see him for who he is and it was refreshing!
In Escape from Olympus (Book 2) Falken meets the daughter of a man (Sef Weaver) he was in Oz with in Escape from Oz (Book 1).
Return to Oz picks up with the two of them discussing her father and when Falken learns that Weaver did not make it out of Oz, Falken hatches a plan to help Weaver return to his family before he is sentenced to life in prison for good.
To be honest, I didn't know how Falken was going to be able to help Weaver by going back to Oz, or how he was going to get back to Oz at all. But what was clear was that he was willing to do anything to help his friend get out of Oz and back to his family.
It was a treat to get to visit Oz again with Falken under different circumstances. With old friends and enemies, along with some new ones, and a story that was beautifully concluded (but left me still wanting more Sirio Falken) Return to Oz was a ride I'd take again, right along with the whole Falken Chronicles.
  
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Raiventon (Gen-Heirs: The Guardians of Sziveria #2)
Raiventon (Gen-Heirs: The Guardians of Sziveria #2)
Sarah Westill | 2021 | Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
RAIVENTON is the second book in the Gen-Heirs: The Guardians of Sziveria series and we move onto Raina and Kevin. They have been married for years but don't have what you might call a conventional marriage!

Kevin has his team and is with them a lot of the time. During his absence, Raina has been striking out on her own, trying to get out from under her father's thumb. Unfortunately, her naivety brings about her downfall, with the not-so-nice Shield Guardian Enbrackon 'helping' her along.

Wow, this series just keeps getting better! I'm sorry Kat and Sean, but it's true! Whilst I loved your book, this one edges it. Maybe because I'm now used to this world. Maybe it's because I really, REALLY, don't like Enbrackon and loved him not getting his way. Maybe it's seeing Kevin and Raina fall in love and her finally being able to show her strengths. I don't know. All I do know is I read this book from beginning to end, losing myself in their world.

The intrigue continues and I am loving every word. Kevin, Mason, Sean, and Katria may be a team when they go on a mission, but they have a team already at home, and I am loving the additions to it with each story.

A fantastic story set in a world I am loving. I have no hesitation in recommending this book, or the series, and I really can't wait for book 3. Bring it on!

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa

Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
The Sound
The Sound
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
4.5 stars.

I happened to really like this, so I am very glad I bought it in paperback when I had the chance. It was just what I was in the mood for so I'm happy right now.

It started a little shaky but I found myself so engrossed in the story that I devoured it fairly quickly for a physical book.

I loved the setting: Nantucket Island. It sounds quite lovely.
<a href="http://s216.photobucket.com/user/leannecrab/media/tumblr_lrjkslF5sB1qfgo4ro1_500.gif.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc19/leannecrab/tumblr_lrjkslF5sB1qfgo4ro1_500.gif"; border="0" alt=" photo tumblr_lrjkslF5sB1qfgo4ro1_500.gif"/></a>

And having a bonfire on the beach sounds cool too. Can't say we do that often over here in the UK (not that I know of anyway)
<a href="http://s216.photobucket.com/user/leannecrab/media/tumblr_n58zv29dGF1qh377zo1_4001.gif.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc19/leannecrab/tumblr_n58zv29dGF1qh377zo1_4001.gif"; border="0" alt=" photo tumblr_n58zv29dGF1qh377zo1_4001.gif"/></a>

I grew to really like Jesse. He was so protective of his friends and family.

Some of the other characters were fairly annoying, but I don't focus on that I focus on the romance between characters not the book as a whole, so it didn't really bother me.

To say it involved a bit of a love triangle I have to say it was fairly obvious who Ren was more interested in when she was seen to spend more time with Jesse than Jeremy, who just seemed a bit too perfect to be real.

I had my suspicions about who was behind the nanny murders and I was partly correct but I'm not going to go into detail. The only thing that bothered me was the ending. It just seemed to happen/end a little too abruptly for my liking but I still really liked it :D