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Ross (3284 KP) rated Squeeze Me in Books

Oct 13, 2020

Squeeze Me

Carl Hiaasen | 2020 | Crime, Humor & Comedy

7.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

It's hard to satirise the most absurd president in history

I received a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I am quite a big fan of Carl Hiaasen, having discovered his quirky corrupt Floridian crime novels as a recommendation for fans of Chris Brookmyre. His books are filled with pollution, government corruption, and bizarre things happening to extreme characters.
Squeeze Me follows the strange disappearance of a rich old fan of the president (who isn't explicitly named but is a bulky chap who likes a tanning bed and has a younger, more attractive wife) at one of her many charity balls near her winter Florida home. Coincidentally, pest control expert Angie Armstrong is asked to dispose of a large, engorged python from the property. There then follows a rollicking tale of cover-ups, dodgy gangsters, racial intolerance, extra-marital affairs and murder, and a small appearance from everyone's favourite governor-turned-hobo-eco-terrorist.
This book is fairly typical of Hiaasen, with all the different characters crossing paths through unlikely events and plots. However, his books are famed for their extreme, unbelievable bad guys: the hoods hired to do a corrupt supposedly honest businessman/government official's dirty work. We have had someone in the past whose hand was bitten off and replaced with a weed-whacker, someone who was hooked on steroids and raped by a dolphin etc. This book is sadly lacking of such characters, as all the bad guys are fairly textbook thugs or criminals.
Also, Hiaasen readers are used to the unbelievable corruption at the hands of government officials, but when the real life president is so corrupt and unethical, any such corruption will struggle in comparison to the real thing. The president is more of a bumbling oaf who hires one man purely to service his sunbeds, another as a body double to test them out before he uses them. His racial hatred of non-North Americans is present, but becomes a small part of his character here.
This is a book about the bizarre adulation towards the president in those who are in his outer inner circle and clamouring for his attention, and the industry that builds up around them.
It is a little bit of a letdown from Hiaasen's best work, but still a great crime and corruption caper.

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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) in Movies

May 6, 2020 (Updated May 6, 2020)

May The Force Be With You: The Middle

Empire Strikes Back- i heard that this movie is peoples, all time greatest/best sequel and the best movie out of the oringal trilogy. To me, no. Episode 4 and 6 are better. Their are excellent sences like.. the battle at Hoth, when Han gets Frozen and the battle between Dark Vader and Luke. The rest of the movie is slow and boring.

The plot: The adventure continues in this "Star Wars" sequel. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) face attack by the Imperial forces and its AT-AT walkers on the ice planet Hoth. While Han and Leia escape in the Millennium Falcon, Luke travels to Dagobah in search of Yoda. Only with the Jedi master's help will Luke survive when the dark side of the Force beckons him into the ultimate duel with Darth Vader (David Prowse).

To me their are better movie sequels than this one like.. "Back To The Future Part II", "Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers", "The Dark Knight", "Captain America: The Winter Soilder", "Toy Story 2", "Terminator 2: Judgement Day" and "Aliens". All of these sequels are 10x better than Empire Strikes Back.

AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – Nominated

AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – Nominated

AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains:
Darth Vader – No. 3 Villain

AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:
"I am your father." – Nominated
"Do, or do not. There is no try." – Nominated

AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th
Anniversary Edition) – Nominated.

Darth Vader was ranked as the third-greatest film villain of all time in the American Film Institute's 2003 list of the 100 greatest heroes and villains, and Wizard magazine selected the ending of The Empire Strikes Back as the greatest cliffhanger of all time.

The line "No, I am your father" is often misquoted as "Luke, I am your father." The line was selected as one of the 400 nominees for the American Film Institute's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes, a list of the greatest American film quotes.

I think Empire Strikes Back, even though its good. Its overrated and hyped up, to the point were its not just not as good as people say it is.

Like i said its good, but not excellent.