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The Hate U Give (2018)
The Hate U Give (2018)
2018 | Crime, Drama
Let me start by saying that this is an incredibly powerful film. There's not a single member of the cast that I didn't believe in their role, and at no point during the film did I stop to wonder why something happened or what was going on. The whole thing flowed perfectly.

There are stellar performances from everyone, but I was really pleased to see Amandla Stenberg in this role. It's a strong lead which was a great relief as I wasn't overly enthusiastic after seeing some of her previous roles. Regina Hall really hit home for me too, I'm used to her as a comedic actor so this break from that was surprising and very welcome. She did still get the chance for moments of humour, they're just not as over the top as we might be used to.

This is an adaptation of the young adult book of the same name by Angie Thomas. While the protagonist is indeed a teenage girl the film certainly doesn't limit itself to that audience. Many adaptations before this have made it difficult to see its success past the intended age group but I can see this being popular on so many levels. It's a tough subject handled in an excellent way. This really feels like something special.

If I have to quibble about something it's that the ending feels a little too "and they all lived happily ever after". I don't know if that's how it ends in the book or not, I'm going to find out. It's still a good ending though, regardless.

What should you do?

See it. No haggling about ticket prices, it's worth every penny.

Movie thing you wish you could take home

The film doesn't quite fall into the category for this part of my post, but I'd really want Starr's determination and courage.
  
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Maris (8 KP) rated Heartless in Books

Jun 10, 2019  
Heartless
Heartless
Marissa Meyer | 2017 | Children
10
8.3 (33 Ratings)
Book Rating
What a marvelous gem to read. I enjoy every bit of this story. I could not put this book down, I had to know what was going to happen. Who was the Queen of Hearts before she became who she was? Marissa Meyer did exactly that to explain the story.

"Three luscious lemon tarts glistened up at Catherine". Cath the main character of the story absolutely loves baking goods. Her dream is to start her very own bakery one day right in the kingdom of Hearts. What can possibly go wrong with starting your own bakery? Her heart is sought out from the King of Hearts and her heart also falls in love with the kings joker Jest.

The journey between Cath and where her heart truly goes on this journey to her happiness will just make you curiouser and curiouser on where the story will go and how she became what we all know her as the Queen Of Hearts.


Tea parties, Pastry goods, and white rabbits big announcements to the balls! Ohh lets not forget the jabberwocky!

I gave it a five star out of five stars cause its truly a wonderful heart warming story of one of the most notorious villains we all know. It became one of my new favorite stories and Marissa Meyer became one of my top favorite authors of all time.
  
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Mark Halpern (153 KP) rated Full Metal Jacket (1987) in Movies

Jan 3, 2018 (Updated Jan 3, 2018)  
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
1987 | Action, Drama, War
This my Rifle This is My gun
This movie is one of the best look into Marine training at Paris Island. The movie is a nice look into the Vietnam war showcasing a great actor in Modine. His character is seen two ways (a killer and protector) and depending on your point of view you get to decide which one he is. The movie is suspenseful and filled with some good history. It also is a little depressing but, what war movie isn't. The best part in my opinion is that R. Lee Ermey was really a Master Sgt in the Marines so he didn't really need training to act the way he did. He frightened Modine as he said in several interviews
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Diva (Breathing Underwater, #2)
Alex Flinn | 2006
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I really enjoyed this book. Realistic, with a very likeable protagonist. It touched on deep subjects without being over-the-top and melancholy, yet it could be amusing and you really got a sense for the characters and how they would act/react/relate/talk. Other than that I can't really describe why I liked this book so much, except that it was enjoyable and I would definitely love to read more with Caitlin!

I did notice a lot of quotation marks where there shouldn't be and none where there should be. Sometimes I was a little confused about what the author was trying to say because of misspellings or left out words or letters, especially during the "blog speak" where it had internet spelling.
  
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Erika Kehlet (21 KP) rated Archetype in Books

Feb 21, 2018  
A
Archetype
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The first 2/3 of the book kept me reading every chance I got in order to figure out what exactly was going on. You only learn things as Emma does, and I liked the style. Once Emma does figure everything out, I thought both the storyline and the writing went downhill. The dialog wasn't great from the beginning, but up until that point the story made up for it. I was very disappointed in the ending, which wouldn't have dropped my rating so much if I felt that it was the right ending, but after watching Emma grow and find her strength throughout the story, I could not believe that she would have acted the way she did at the end of the book.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated The Post (2017) in Movies

Feb 12, 2018  
The Post (2017)
The Post (2017)
2017 | Biography, Drama, Thriller
First class post
Solid historical drama finds Steven Spielberg in serious, awards-trawling mode. Tale of noble, principled people working in the media who find themselves under scurrilous attack from hostile and mendacious president makes you glad you're not living in the 70s; good job this sort of thing couldn't happen nowadays.

Script does a good job of turning a potentially wordy story - various journalists, lawyers, and executives stand around discussing the ethics of publishing news - into a genuinely gripping drama, well performed by Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. Perhaps just a bit simplistic in its presentation of politicians = bad, journalists = good, but that's essentially the message of the film (did I mention what good reviews it's had in all the papers?).
  
Children of Blood and Bone: Book 1
Children of Blood and Bone: Book 1
Tomi Adeyemi | 2018 | Paranormal, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.1 (28 Ratings)
Book Rating
I'd say 3.5 to 4 .. it's full of action and what action is in there is good - it plays out like a movie or books I've read before - but in any book like this I think it would read the same - I called a few things I think though it did not end how I would have expected there were some characters in there that entertained me quite a lot and I am curious if they will be in the next book because I'll be continuing. My only complaint is that I can't understand a word of the names/the magic/the places - I mean I get you have to be unique but at least give me names and places I can pronounced ok thanks.
  
Whistle In The Dark
Whistle In The Dark
Emma Healey | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
5
7.3 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Promising plot, badly executed
I very badly wanted to like this book, but it was such a struggle. The plot is very promising and intriguing and I was expecting some sort of crime mystery or thriller, but instead of that it was more of an emotional book about mental health. Whilst I have no issue with that, I found main character Jen to be a little frustrating after a while and around half way through the book I was getting very bored. It didn’t feel like the story was getting anywhere quickly and when it did finally reach the end, it was a bit of a disappointment as it was exactly what you could’ve predicted right from the start. Sadly not my kind of story.
  
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MelanieTheresa (997 KP) rated The Invisible Man (2020) in Movies

Mar 30, 2020 (Updated Mar 30, 2020)  
The Invisible Man (2020)
The Invisible Man (2020)
2020 | Horror, Sci-Fi
As another reviewer pointed out ( @Dean, I believe), this immediately reminded me of @Sleeping with the Enemy (1991) - but that makes sense as they're both about controlling, abusive husbands.

I never really cared one way or the other about Elisabeth Moss, however having enjoyed her performance in @The Kitchen (2019), I was very much looking forward to seeing what she could do with this movie - and she did not disappoint; she was entirely believable as the terrified, battered wife. And it was SO FRUSTRATING when other characters didn't believe her.

The concept is terrifying when you think about it - that an abuser has figured out how to be invisible in order to continue the abuse? *shudder* That alone is horror enough.
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