A Triumph of Genius: Edwin Land, Polaroid, and the Kodak Patent War
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One man Steve Jobs outspokenly admired was Edwin Land, the creator of Polaroid's instant...
Iron Gold: Book 4 of the Red Rising Saga
7.8
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#1 New York Times bestselling author Pierce Brown expands the size and scope of his Red Rising...
science fiction
Awix (3310 KP) rated Casablanca (1942) in Movies
Mar 12, 2018 (Updated Mar 12, 2018)
Despite the fact this is regularly studied as an example of a perfectly-constructed story, it's probably best not to look too closely at some elements of the plot. The performances and dialogue are so winning that you give the movie a pass on this anyway. Everyone has their favourite Casablanca moment, whether it's one of the romantic bits, one of the jokes, a song, or whatever. Beyond simply being made with skill and sincerity, it's quite hard to determine what makes this film quite so special, but the fact remains that it is deservedly a legend.
Shadow of the Hegemon (The Shadow Series, #2)
8.0
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The War is over, won by Ender Wiggin and his team of brilliant child-warriors. The enemy is...
JSA the Golden Age
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From STARMAN scribe James Robinson, and in the beautiful Deluxe Edition format, comes an alternate...
The Future King
7.0
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Dealing with monster attacks and his missing father has been hard enough for Fort Fitzgerald in his...
A Game for Swallows: To Die, to Leave, to Return
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When Zeina was born, the civil war in Lebanon had been going on for six years, so it's just a normal...
Kingsbane
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When assassins ambush her best friend, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing...
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated 1917 (2020) in Movies
Nov 28, 2019
As we know this did not happen as a generation later the world was once again at war with even great death and destruction to follow. However in “1917” we see the conflict from the viewpoint of a lowly Corporal Schofield (George MacKay) who along with his friend Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) are tasked with delivering a message across enemy lines to warn advanced units to call of an attack due to an ambush being set by the Germans.
The duo are told that the enemy has pulled back and as such; the dreaded No Man’s Land between the opposing trenches are likely to be abandoned as well their approach to a town near their destination. With the phone lines down; the duo are the only option and they are at first shocked to learn that it would just the two of them.
As they make their way across a grim and corpse-laden battlefield, the audience as well as the two men get a look at the horrific conditions that combat took place under and how fallen individuals were left to decompose where they fell due to the entrenched and stagnant nature of Trench Warfare.
As complications mount, the two must face up to their greatest fears and challenges; driven by a sense of mission and purpose for a conflict they just want to see end so they can return home to their families.
Director Sam Mendes has crafted an Oscar Caliber film as it is gripping as it is breathtaking thanks to the amazing visuals. The contrast between the beauty of the landscape and the carnage of war has rarely been captured as well as it was in this film and the fact that Mendes had a hand in writing the story based on stories told by a relative really help to bring the full impact of the story home.
The film has some amazing sequences like sustained and extended shots where you wonder how Mendes was able to film scenes with so many things going on in one take as there is a scene near the start that looks as if it is an extended scene with no breaks or cutaways.
In the end the biggest selling point for the film is that it is a human drama at its core. While there is combat and action, they are not the focal points as much of the film centers around the young men and their conversations.
The film will stay with you after the credits roll and I consider “1917” to be one of the best films of 2019 and one not to be missed.
ClareR (6256 KP) rated The Great Alone in Books
Feb 6, 2018
This is a story of survival: Leni and her mother survive the violence of Leni's Vietnam War vet father (who is suffering from PTSD after being held as a prisoner by the enemy). Cora, Leni's mother, will not leave him, saying that she loves him and needs him, and repeatedly pays the price. Leni loves Alaska and her boyfriend Matthew, but tragic circumstances take her away from both for a number of years. Many years later, under different circumstances, she is able to return.
I think I really like Kristin Hannah books. The way she describes the surroundings in Alaska: the wildness, the beauty, the unpredictability. I've read a couple of books recently set in the cold, snowy arctic circle, and this only made me want to actually see it myself even more!
I know I'm only two books in to my Kristin Hannah experience, but I can't say as there is anything about either of them that I didn't like. I'll be hunting down more!