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The Scorpion Rules (Prisoners of Peace #1)
9.0
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The world is at peace, said the Utterances. And really, if the odd princess has a hard day, is that...
Her Last Flight
10.0
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In 1947, photographer and war correspondent Janey Everett arrives at a remote surfing village on the...
The Beauty and His Beast
10.0
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Everild, known far and wide as the Beast, is a warrior of unparalleled ferocity, revered by the king...
Fairytale Retelling MM Fantasy Romance
Darren (1599 KP) rated Allied (2016) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Story: Allied starts as Canadian Intelligence Officer Max Vatan (Pitt) lands in Morocco to work with French Resistance Fighter Marianna Beausejour (Cotillard) as they pretend to be married as they complete their mission. The two fall in love for real and return to London to get married against the his superior Frank Heslop (Harris) opinion.
After a year of marriage Heslop comes to Max believing Marianna is indeed a spy, this leaves Max questioning, which side of the story to believe and what is the truth.
Thoughts on Allied
Characters – Max Vatan is Canadian intelligence working in Africa, highly skilled he can blend into his environment, but he does fall in love with his undercover wife. When he gets informed she could well be a spy, his life is turned upside down with doubts about what is the truth. Marianna is the French resistance fighter working with the Canadian Max as his fake wife, but she also falls in love with Max and returns to start a family with him. We don’t learn too much apart from that she is a loving wife and mother though.
Performances – Brad Pitt is good for the opening mission, you believe his every decision, but when he becomes the family man, he just doesn’t reach the levels you know he can. Marion Cotillard is good without being her breath-taking best in this role.
Story – The story here follows love and spies during World War II, we see how two people from different sides of the war fall in love and they must decide which side of the war they are supporting. This film doesn’t become as intense as it could be because seeing it from both sides could have heighted the experience and by the end it just doesn’t feel like it reaches the levels it should.
Action/Romance/War – The action during the film is tame with very little being used or looking overly real. The romance doesn’t feel whirlwind like you think it should be either, but the war side comes off strong as we see how the tension between the sides cause most of the issues in the lives.
Settings – The settings look authentic for the time, which does work well for the film.
Scene of the Movie – The truth.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Just fizzles out in the second half of the film.
Final Thoughts – This is a war romance film that just never reaches the levels it should do, it just seems to go on and becomes one of the average films that you forget by the end.
Overall: Average and disappointing.
https://moviesreview101.com/2019/02/01/abc-film-challenge-oscar-nomination-a-allied-2016/
After a year of marriage Heslop comes to Max believing Marianna is indeed a spy, this leaves Max questioning, which side of the story to believe and what is the truth.
Thoughts on Allied
Characters – Max Vatan is Canadian intelligence working in Africa, highly skilled he can blend into his environment, but he does fall in love with his undercover wife. When he gets informed she could well be a spy, his life is turned upside down with doubts about what is the truth. Marianna is the French resistance fighter working with the Canadian Max as his fake wife, but she also falls in love with Max and returns to start a family with him. We don’t learn too much apart from that she is a loving wife and mother though.
Performances – Brad Pitt is good for the opening mission, you believe his every decision, but when he becomes the family man, he just doesn’t reach the levels you know he can. Marion Cotillard is good without being her breath-taking best in this role.
Story – The story here follows love and spies during World War II, we see how two people from different sides of the war fall in love and they must decide which side of the war they are supporting. This film doesn’t become as intense as it could be because seeing it from both sides could have heighted the experience and by the end it just doesn’t feel like it reaches the levels it should.
Action/Romance/War – The action during the film is tame with very little being used or looking overly real. The romance doesn’t feel whirlwind like you think it should be either, but the war side comes off strong as we see how the tension between the sides cause most of the issues in the lives.
Settings – The settings look authentic for the time, which does work well for the film.
Scene of the Movie – The truth.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Just fizzles out in the second half of the film.
Final Thoughts – This is a war romance film that just never reaches the levels it should do, it just seems to go on and becomes one of the average films that you forget by the end.
Overall: Average and disappointing.
https://moviesreview101.com/2019/02/01/abc-film-challenge-oscar-nomination-a-allied-2016/
Today We Die a Little: The Rise and Fall of Emil Zatopek, Olympic Legend
Book
LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD. The definitive biography of one of...
I Feel So Good: The Life and Times of Big Bill Broonzy
Peter Guralnick, Bob Riesman and Pete Townshend
Book
A major figure in American blues and folk music, Big Bill Broonzy (1903-58) left his Arkansas Delta...
Hadley (567 KP) rated Chosen Ones in Books
Jul 21, 2021
Writing (3 more)
Inconsistencies
Constantly stopping the story
Stereo-typical character
What usually draws readers into a hero versus villain story is to see the hero's fight to victory. The struggle, the refusal to back down - - - we usually put ourselves into this character and root for them to win at any cost. But the Chosen Ones starts us off after our heroes are victorious in the battle against the villain. The heroes are trying to cope with every day life after achieving the most important thing they would ever accomplish, but memories of the war against the Dark One keep them from returning to that normal life.
Sloane is our main character - - - one of the five heroes that was picked by a prophecy years ago to take down the Dark One. One of the effects of battling the villain for her is she now endures PTSD-induced nightmares. We meet her in the midst of one of these nightmares, where she nearly stabs her boyfriend, Matt (also one of the five heroes), with a kitchen knife. And this isn't the first time this has happened: it happens enough that Sloane was put on medication to help with her PTSD, as well as going to therapy.
But with the ten year anniversary of the Dark One's defeat looming ahead, life seems to be getting even harder for the heroes. All the heroes want is to move on and forget the war had ever happened - - - but then something happens that causes them to relive the Dark One's fight all over again.
The heroes end up on a magic-using world called Genetrix where a man going by the name the Resurrectionist is causing the same destruction as the Dark One did on their world. Disoriented and curious, the heroes have no choice but to believe the two main magic users who brought them there, Aelia and Nero. The two seem to be the ones in charge of finding the chosen one to take down the Resurrectionist. But soon after the heroes agree to take down this world's Dark One, they begin to believe that Aelia and Nero are hiding information from them.
The heroes decide to focus on learning to use magic, so they can defend themselves on this world. With the help of siphons, the heroes are able to begin practicing magic for their fight with the Resurrectionist. . . but for Sloane, she is unable to get her siphon to work, instead, she contains an ability that came from a cursed object from their world, a cursed object that wants her back.
This book contains a lot of the problems that went on during 2020, possibly too many of them. Unlike most books released last year, Chosen Ones didn't do a well enough job of hiding reality in plain sight. Chosen Ones also made the mistake of cutting up the story with intermissions of newspaper articles and government reports. Divergent author Veronica Roth disrupted the flow of the story by doing such that it felt like the story continuously came to a stand still.
Chosen Ones also plays up the Young Adult genre tropes. The relationship between Sloane and Mox happens so quickly that it isn't believable to the reader, and the result is awkward to the point of embarrassing. Also, the friendship between the heroes is very flat, so much so that when conflict arises, I was left believing that no one cared if the other one died.
But it was the idea of the story that hooked me as a reader - - - movies, television shows, and other novels normally focus on the heroes during the great fight with the villain, allowing readers to live the war and pick the fighter they want to win. In this novel, the connection with the heroes is severely lacking, especially when the only character development happens to Sloane. Very reminiscent of Mira Grant's 'Feed,' I couldn't bring myself to like the main character. Sloane tries too hard to be a strong and independent woman, she comes off as a teenager trapped in an adult woman's body, even Ines, one of the other female heroes, is a more well-put together character than Sloane is. This is the trope that is killing lead female characters in the Young Adult genre, but I suppose it's better than having the stereo-typical ditzy female lead characters most adult novels have.
Although the synopsis caused me to buy this book, I was really disappointed with the path in which Roth took it down. The biggest issue was how much of 2020's problems were shoved into one book because it took away from what this story could have been. The heroes are blatantly fighting Donald Trump aka the Dark One, and this subject has been done to-death so much that I couldn't get fully immersed into the story. They also fight against people who can do magic, including people who are apparently Wiccans - - - but Roth labels them as 'evil. ' Having known actually Wiccans in my life, I know that they believe in harming none. Roth's stereo-typing of anyone who is not her heroes shows a shallowness that is becoming more prevalent, unfortunately, in female writers.
Chosen Ones could have been so much more than what it was because it just ends up being another empty story that takes on today's problems just to sell a book. With inconsistencies and bad writing throughout, I can't recommend this book to anyone, but if you love YA tropes, then you'll love this one.
Sloane is our main character - - - one of the five heroes that was picked by a prophecy years ago to take down the Dark One. One of the effects of battling the villain for her is she now endures PTSD-induced nightmares. We meet her in the midst of one of these nightmares, where she nearly stabs her boyfriend, Matt (also one of the five heroes), with a kitchen knife. And this isn't the first time this has happened: it happens enough that Sloane was put on medication to help with her PTSD, as well as going to therapy.
But with the ten year anniversary of the Dark One's defeat looming ahead, life seems to be getting even harder for the heroes. All the heroes want is to move on and forget the war had ever happened - - - but then something happens that causes them to relive the Dark One's fight all over again.
The heroes end up on a magic-using world called Genetrix where a man going by the name the Resurrectionist is causing the same destruction as the Dark One did on their world. Disoriented and curious, the heroes have no choice but to believe the two main magic users who brought them there, Aelia and Nero. The two seem to be the ones in charge of finding the chosen one to take down the Resurrectionist. But soon after the heroes agree to take down this world's Dark One, they begin to believe that Aelia and Nero are hiding information from them.
The heroes decide to focus on learning to use magic, so they can defend themselves on this world. With the help of siphons, the heroes are able to begin practicing magic for their fight with the Resurrectionist. . . but for Sloane, she is unable to get her siphon to work, instead, she contains an ability that came from a cursed object from their world, a cursed object that wants her back.
This book contains a lot of the problems that went on during 2020, possibly too many of them. Unlike most books released last year, Chosen Ones didn't do a well enough job of hiding reality in plain sight. Chosen Ones also made the mistake of cutting up the story with intermissions of newspaper articles and government reports. Divergent author Veronica Roth disrupted the flow of the story by doing such that it felt like the story continuously came to a stand still.
Chosen Ones also plays up the Young Adult genre tropes. The relationship between Sloane and Mox happens so quickly that it isn't believable to the reader, and the result is awkward to the point of embarrassing. Also, the friendship between the heroes is very flat, so much so that when conflict arises, I was left believing that no one cared if the other one died.
But it was the idea of the story that hooked me as a reader - - - movies, television shows, and other novels normally focus on the heroes during the great fight with the villain, allowing readers to live the war and pick the fighter they want to win. In this novel, the connection with the heroes is severely lacking, especially when the only character development happens to Sloane. Very reminiscent of Mira Grant's 'Feed,' I couldn't bring myself to like the main character. Sloane tries too hard to be a strong and independent woman, she comes off as a teenager trapped in an adult woman's body, even Ines, one of the other female heroes, is a more well-put together character than Sloane is. This is the trope that is killing lead female characters in the Young Adult genre, but I suppose it's better than having the stereo-typical ditzy female lead characters most adult novels have.
Although the synopsis caused me to buy this book, I was really disappointed with the path in which Roth took it down. The biggest issue was how much of 2020's problems were shoved into one book because it took away from what this story could have been. The heroes are blatantly fighting Donald Trump aka the Dark One, and this subject has been done to-death so much that I couldn't get fully immersed into the story. They also fight against people who can do magic, including people who are apparently Wiccans - - - but Roth labels them as 'evil. ' Having known actually Wiccans in my life, I know that they believe in harming none. Roth's stereo-typing of anyone who is not her heroes shows a shallowness that is becoming more prevalent, unfortunately, in female writers.
Chosen Ones could have been so much more than what it was because it just ends up being another empty story that takes on today's problems just to sell a book. With inconsistencies and bad writing throughout, I can't recommend this book to anyone, but if you love YA tropes, then you'll love this one.
Rachel (48 KP) rated Small Gods in Books
May 24, 2017
Funny (4 more)
Philosophy
Fantasy
Terry Pratchett
Excellent fiction
The 13th Discworld book
Small God's is the 13th book in the Discworld series. You do not have to have read any of the other books to understand this one as it features characters that (mostly) only appear in this book.
As with all of Pratchett's work it is a subtle blend of humour and humanity. It uses amazing characters and situations to highlight the hypocrisy and insanity of real life.
This book focuses on Brutha; a 'slow', ordinary monk for the God Om. It is the biggest, and most ruthless, religion in this part of the Discworld.
Brutha is gardening, as he always is (not much use for anything else) when a tortoise literally drops into his life and changes his world......
This book questions the hierarchy of religion, the wisdom of power, philosophy, the righteousness of war and whether a tortoise really does make good eating.
As with all of Pratchett's work it is a subtle blend of humour and humanity. It uses amazing characters and situations to highlight the hypocrisy and insanity of real life.
This book focuses on Brutha; a 'slow', ordinary monk for the God Om. It is the biggest, and most ruthless, religion in this part of the Discworld.
Brutha is gardening, as he always is (not much use for anything else) when a tortoise literally drops into his life and changes his world......
This book questions the hierarchy of religion, the wisdom of power, philosophy, the righteousness of war and whether a tortoise really does make good eating.
Ashley Valencia (5 KP) rated Christopher Robin (2018) in Movies
Mar 31, 2019
Surprisingly Good
I was very pleasantly surprised by this film. Disney's live action remakes have been pretty disappointing to me, in general. But this one was very well made. I think they did a great job incorporating the fantasy characters into the real life world of post war England.
Ewan McGregor plays a grown up Christopher Robin who most people will be able to relate to. He's trying to find balance between his work and home life and finds himself coming up short on both sides. He's stressed and has put aside childish things to focus on trying to be a competent adult.
Then he gets a visit from a few almost forgotten childhood friends and learns to loosen up a little and see things differently. It's a wonderfully told story and I was so glad that the original voice actor was brought back. It just wouldn't have been Winnie the Pooh without Jim Cummings.
Ewan McGregor plays a grown up Christopher Robin who most people will be able to relate to. He's trying to find balance between his work and home life and finds himself coming up short on both sides. He's stressed and has put aside childish things to focus on trying to be a competent adult.
Then he gets a visit from a few almost forgotten childhood friends and learns to loosen up a little and see things differently. It's a wonderfully told story and I was so glad that the original voice actor was brought back. It just wouldn't have been Winnie the Pooh without Jim Cummings.
Rebecca Billcliff (2409 KP) rated His Majesty's Dragon in Books
Nov 13, 2019
A Magisterial Read
This first book came free when I pre ordered another book, and at first, I paid it no attention. One day, I found it, and I have not looked back.
The series gives something different in each book, and the first gives all the info to the world, without playing the excessive exposition game.
This universe is set in the Nepolionic war, but in this reality, alongside the Marines and Navy, there is also the Arial Corp, where the men fight from the back of massive dragons!
They have a hyerachy on bord, with captains bonded strongly with their dragons, who are themselves, strong characters.
There is a rich mythology within this series, and includes topics like political strife, religion, slavery and historical events, adapted to include it's scaly new additions.
Both a great read for fantasy and history lovers alike, give this book a go, and see if you read all 9.
The series gives something different in each book, and the first gives all the info to the world, without playing the excessive exposition game.
This universe is set in the Nepolionic war, but in this reality, alongside the Marines and Navy, there is also the Arial Corp, where the men fight from the back of massive dragons!
They have a hyerachy on bord, with captains bonded strongly with their dragons, who are themselves, strong characters.
There is a rich mythology within this series, and includes topics like political strife, religion, slavery and historical events, adapted to include it's scaly new additions.
Both a great read for fantasy and history lovers alike, give this book a go, and see if you read all 9.