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A Few Good Men (1992)
A Few Good Men (1992)
1992 | Drama, Mystery
Brilliantly done
I'm ashamed to say that until tonight, I'd never seen this film. I had thought it was just another monotonous and dull courtroom drama (despite knowing most people refer to it as a classic), however had I known this was written by Aaron Sorkin I would've watched it a long time ago!

The star of this film is by far Sorkin's script and writing. It isn't just a dreary by the bools legal drama, the script is spot on - it's whip sharp, witty and surprisingly funny at parts. This film keeps you hanging on every minute and guessing about the outcome. This paired with a truly phenomenal cast makes the movie a must see. I'm not the biggest fan of Tom Cruise, but he's an absolute star in this and displays a range I never thought possible from him. And then of course there's Jack Nicholson who manages to almost steal the show with his iconic line and speech, despite it really only being a minor part. And the rest of the cast too are really great, even Demi Moore who I've never thought much of either.

My only criticism of this film is that it may be overly long. Not massively, but at 2h15 I feel like it could've been cut down a little to around 2 hours without any real detriment to the story. But that said, this did pretty much hold my attention throughout and this is mainly due to Tom Cruise's performance and Sorkin's unbelievably brilliant script. If you're looking for a shining example of a courtroom drama, you can do no better than this.
  
Expeditionary Force: Book 1 - Columbus Day
Expeditionary Force: Book 1 - Columbus Day
Craig Alanson | 2016 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
9.3 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Witty narrative of when Earth picked the wrong side of the war to join
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review. The opinions are entirely my own, and any quotes are taken from the ARC and may be different in the final published copy.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, The Martian by Andy Weir, and the movie Independence Day all have one important aspect in common - humor. Without the levity, all three would be boring and forgotten works left in a drawer somewhere. Reading the humorous description of the first book in Craig Alanson's Expeditionary Force series, Columbus Day, I knew I had to read it and wondered why I had not read it before now.

The Ruhar attacks the world on, you guessed it, Columbus Day. We thought we were saved when the Kristang flew in and attacked the Ruhar. We else were we to do but pick the side of the guys who saved us. As we quickly learn, we made the wrong move.

Having the narrator of The Maritan, R.C. Bray, narrate Columbus Day was a stroke of genius. He again proves he can skillfully deliver snarky, "American" humor while making the end of the world as we know no laughing matter.

To date, there are ten books in the series, but Alanson ended it at a point in the story Columbus Day could work as a stand-alone novel, although readers would be remiss in not continuing,

This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 8/10/20.
  
Sigfried's Smelly Socks!
Sigfried's Smelly Socks!
Len Foley | 2020
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Sigfried's Smelly Socks! is an illustration book for children that focuses on describing the smell of dirty socks at its fullest. Whilst I have mixed feelings as to how disgusting this subject is, I quite liked the bright-coloured illustrations.

I strongly believe that children are meant to love this book - it is full of wittiness and it made me giggle a few times, when the author describes how different coloured socks smell differently, and all so awful.

This book has a tendency to make you imagine the smells in your mind while reading and watching the illustrations. It can even make you feel like you could actually smell them in the room. Lovely description, though some parts might be too hard to be understood by the younger audience:

But nothing compares to the other smell that burns the hairs on my head.

While we discuss the subject of how the book focuses on dirty socks and some people might find it unbearable - I would point to the fact that this book is a perfect masterpiece in reminding the little cute monsters that they need to keep their socks (and their hygiene in general) neat and clean. It is a great moral and life lesson through a very funny story told by the silly Sigfried, who seems to notice all the rotten smells that surround him.

Lovely read, and a lovely told story in a witty way. This book deserved a 4 out of 5 stars for the sole reason of this book maybe being too rich in the vocabulary for the audience it wants to reach.
  
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Lee Ann (116 KP) rated Moonlight Sins in Books

May 18, 2018  
Moonlight Sins
Moonlight Sins
Jennifer L Armentrout | 2018 | Romance
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book is so awkward. That's really the only way I can put it. The female MC flits between sounding like a woman in her 20s to a teenager and back again with alarming regularity.

The three de Vincent brothers are flat. It's like JLA picked out three primary alpha male qualities, gave one to each and figured that was enough. Devlin is the silent, mysterious one, Gabe is the easygoing one and Lucian is the playboy. Each trope isn't a bad one, but there's barely any fleshing out.

The plot alludes to ghosts haunting the house, but nothing ever really comes of that other than ghostly footsteps and flickering lights happening here and there but have no real impact on the story, it's like they're used as an excuse for mystery.

The primary storyline is okay - Lucian is painted as a womaniser at first, and the first few scenes with him are boring and predictable. When he first meets Julia, the JLA we know and love shines through for a while, with witty banter and Lucian gets a little bit of padding.

Sadly, the plot seems to lose its way at some point - it's almost like she's trying to hard and throwing as much into the mix as she can to ensure she covers all bases.

The result is a messy read, up and down, good parts and bad. It reads mostly like it should be YA, but with some of the most awkward sex scenes with things like "he caught her nipple between thumb and forefinger and did something that...." lots of sentences in these scenes end with "did something that..." we never find out what that something is lol

Overall, it's not horrible, but it was awkward and clumsy. I do have the second one on preorder, so we'll see..