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Merissa (12015 KP) rated Tigana in Books

Dec 17, 2018  
T
Tigana
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Another stunner of a book by GGK although this one is a stand alone book and is based loosely on Italy in the 11th and 12th centuries.

In so many ways similar to The Fionavar Tapestry series but so different too. A brief synopsis is that there has been a major battle between 2 wizards in which one of the wizard's sons dies. In revenge the wizard removes the name "Tigana" from the memories and vocabularies of its inhabitants so that eventually the name will die, just like his son did.

This story is so intricate and involved and it is not a clear black/white, good/evil book which is what makes it such a superb read. Everything about is well written, from the villains to the locations to the history that you are given.

This book is bittersweet and poignant and I'll leave it to you to see if there is a happy ending.

Certainly classed as a classic by me and a firm favourite.
  
When You Disappeared
When You Disappeared
John Marrs | 2017 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
A very good thriller
I’ve read and enjoyed quite a few of John Marrs books and couldn’t resist reading this when I spotted it on Kindle Unlimited, and I’m glad I did as it’s a rather enjoyable thriller.

As with all of John Marrs books, it’s definitely well written and as you get into this it’s very difficult to put down. The characters are well developed and interesting, even though neither of them are particularly likeable. Simon especially is rather a conflicted character and I developed a rather intense dislike of him by the end of the book, and I do love when a story can make you really feel something for the characters. There is a slightly unpredictable twist in this, but I couldn’t say it’s a massive surprise and it doesn’t really matter as this book is all about the journey to find out what happened to the characters over the 28 years. The ending is just a good resolution to a rather intriguing story.
  
A Bad Moms Christmas (2017)
A Bad Moms Christmas (2017)
2017 | Comedy
Very funny (0 more)
Before watching this film, I thought it was a spin-off to the Bad Mom's film series, I did not realise it is actually the sequel to the original film. I was a bit dubious as to how this movie would entertain, as most sequels tend to be worse than the original. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the Christmas version as it bested the first film. In my opinion, the comedy was top-notch (no surprise considering the immense cast). I would definitely recommend this film, though please take note of the age certification - it is 15 for a reason! I don't think you need to have seen the first film in order to watch this sequel. I couldn't remember the content first film despite remembering watching it at the cinema with my mum. There's only one small scene which ties the first film into it but you get the gist of what happened.
  
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Vegas (725 KP) rated You Cannot Hide in TV

Feb 2, 2020  
You Cannot Hide
You Cannot Hide
2020 | Action, Drama, Thriller
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
Builds to a satisfying ending (1 more)
The story
A very jumbled start (1 more)
Takes a few episodes to work out what's going on.
Good, eventually
A mother and daughter flee from Mexico to Spain on witness protection and far from being a settled safe life for them it all goes wrong.

The first episode is quite confusing, with so much seemingly unrelated stuff going on it is a lot to take in especially who is who and what part of the story they are connected to.

In my opinion it remains a bit of a jumble through a few episodes and I almost gave up on it after episode 4, however I persevered and I'm glad I did, it all calmed down and once you knew who was who, it made much more sense. Leading to a reasonably worthwhile viewing with some parts feeling a little like 24 in story progression.

Not the best I have seen recently but worth watching if you like action thriller type series.
  
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Colin Newman recommended Tabula Rasa by Arvo Part in Music (curated)

 
Tabula Rasa  by Arvo Part
Tabula Rasa by Arvo Part
1984 | Classical, Experimental
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"People who didn’t live through that period or weren’t old enough to know what was going on somehow imagine that there was this fantastic post-punk thing going on. That’s all made up in hindsight. Really, everything was pop of the most plastic kind. And a lot of it was quite terrible. Though I did like Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” which came out in 1984. There was a real thing in the early-to-mid ’80s about modern classical music; there was a lot of that stuff around, and those were the more interesting things. If you know Tabula Rasa and know anything about the music that I’ve been involved with, you might struggle to find how I would connect with that kind of music. But it’s not really experimental music. It’s very emotional. It doesn’t have the form of a song but it’s not far from the world that Eno was exploring with his Ambient series."

Source
  
Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground
Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground
1967 | Experimental

"I know, I know - it's the most classic album on the list. But it is an amazing record. You can look at it in so many ways - just as a piece of music, or what it was responsible for culturally. It really was the most influential record of all time. I'd say it and Never Mind The Bollocks invented modern leftfield music. It has incredible songs, that's one thing. And another is that it has Lou Reed as songwriter. His voice is one of those that you become glued to. It's not as perfect as Scott Walker's, it's more about his phrasing. I love Nico. I mean, how influential was Nico? I think she invented goth. Obviously when she did stuff on her own she really went out there, but with the Velvet Undergound I love the juxtaposition between the songs' melodies and the fact that she couldn't really sing. She had her own style. Amazing record. 'Venus In Furs', 'All Tomorrow's Parties': I love the drones."

Source
  
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
I know my body was present during this impossibly dull super hero outing in a dying franchise, but I couldn’t honestly tell you much about what happened… I was so out of my mind bored by every detail. The character of Jean Grey / Dark Phoenix has the potential to soar, as it almost did in the original X-Men trilogy, when the character was played by Famke Janssen, but in the hands of Sophie Turner and director Simon Kinberg you have to wonder if it was possible to fuck it up any more given the budget? Turner is fine as a TV supporting actress, but I am afraid her cinematic future is as limited as her talent – she has almost no presence, which is a problem for a superhero. I mean, it’s colourful enough and there are some decent flash pop action bits… but the pace, structure, momentum and… point of it all is all over the place. For very, very staunch X-Men fans only. Shame.