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Ross (3282 KP) rated Quantum Leap in TV
Feb 14, 2018
Possibly the best TV show ever
Technically sci-fi (Sam is sent back through time into the body of people whose lives went wrong to try and stop certain events from happening) but each episode was a mini-drama in itself with a sci-fi overlay. Whether Sam became a pregnant woman, a struggling aging baseball player or a young man with down's syndrome, Scott Bakula's character had to work out who they were (starting with the standard "Oh boy" in the mirror), and with the help of his hologram assistant Al (Dean Stockwell) what events they would be trying to avoid. Once the task was complete, Sam would "leap" out, each time hoping the next leap would be the leap home.
Truly brilliant and I have nice warm fuzzy memories of watching with my family throughout the early 90s.
Truly brilliant and I have nice warm fuzzy memories of watching with my family throughout the early 90s.
Milleen (47 KP) rated How to Stop Time in Books
Nov 14, 2018
Matt Haig has written a variety of books for children and adults as well as a memoir that topped the bestseller list for almost a year. Now he has delved back into adult fiction and delivered a delightful novel that will leave you pondering. Tom Hazard may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he's been aging slowly over centuries. From Elizabethan England to 1920s Paris and further afield, Tom is forced to change his identity to stay alive. He is forced to abide by one rule, to not fall in love. Tom finally gets the ‘ordinary’ life he craves and finds work as a history teacher in a modern London comprehensive but how much longer can he keep this secret? ‘How to Stop Time’ is a bittersweet story about life, loss and change.
Russ Troutt (291 KP) rated The Irishman (2019) in Movies
Nov 28, 2019 (Updated Nov 30, 2019)
Some people paint houses. Some people paint our screens with incredible performances. I have been looking forward to seeing The Irishman all year and it was even better than I could have hoped for; what a story. Not sure which excited me more, just seeing Pesci back on the screen, De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci all together on screen, or Scorcese back behind the camera(even if I disagree with his opinion on Marvel movies). This movie is packing some serious heat in regards to the supporting cast as well. I was a little nervous when I heard they were using cgi aging technology, but if was very well done. The movie's run time is as long as a mid 70's Lincoln Towncar, but cruises along just as smooth, and just like Jimmy Hoffa's body the time disappears.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated The Sentinel in Books
Jan 6, 2021
The beginning put me off a bit--when they are killing all the people to claim the planet, and Fourteen's sudden change in behaviour...but fast forward to him landing at the new location and meeting Connell and I liked it.
It might have been Fourteen's learning to speak out loud after all the conversation being done mentally or his protectiveness of the baby, but he really grew on me.
I thought the relationship between him and Connell was really cute, especially the:
"Why do they do that with their lips?"
You'll know what I'm talking about when you get there.<br/><br/>However I'm not sure if I liked the end with the aging of the characters, especially with how short it is. I know it had to end somehow but I wasn't a fan.
It might have been Fourteen's learning to speak out loud after all the conversation being done mentally or his protectiveness of the baby, but he really grew on me.
I thought the relationship between him and Connell was really cute, especially the:
"Why do they do that with their lips?"
You'll know what I'm talking about when you get there.<br/><br/>However I'm not sure if I liked the end with the aging of the characters, especially with how short it is. I know it had to end somehow but I wasn't a fan.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Pain and Glory (2019) in Movies
Sep 5, 2019
Reflective drama from Pedro Almodóvar. An aging film director whose health is beginning to fail looks back upon key events and relationships from his life and contemplates his future. Clearly there is a semi-autobiographical element to this film, which is informed to a great extent by Almodóvar's own life - Bandera's character hasn't spoken to another character for decades, reflecting the twenty-year falling-out between Banderas and Almodóvar himself, while various other key collaborators appear in small roles.
More sober and introspective than many of the director's films, but made with the usual skill and subtlety; he hasn't lost his fondness for outrageous plot contrivances, either. In the end this is an arthouse drama, so perhaps not to all taste - but while this can be a bit slow and talky, it is also very satisfying, warm and humane.
More sober and introspective than many of the director's films, but made with the usual skill and subtlety; he hasn't lost his fondness for outrageous plot contrivances, either. In the end this is an arthouse drama, so perhaps not to all taste - but while this can be a bit slow and talky, it is also very satisfying, warm and humane.
David McK (3188 KP) rated Eternals (2021) in Movies
Jan 30, 2022
I've lost track of how many Marvel movies there are - we must be into our 20s at least by now!
And, unfortunately, I found this one of the weakest so far, despite the 'star power' that it includes in its cast (most woefully the massively underused Salma Hayek or Angelina Jolie), with its large cast of central character - 10, I think - all on the earth since millennia BC, all un-aging (and the inspiration for our myths and legends) and all massively bored.
Which, unfortunately, is how I felt for large parts of the movie - it actually took me several attempts to make it the whole way through (watched in Disney+).
I've heard it works better the second time around, once you know a few key plot points and details, but I'm not in any hurry for a rewatch,
And, unfortunately, I found this one of the weakest so far, despite the 'star power' that it includes in its cast (most woefully the massively underused Salma Hayek or Angelina Jolie), with its large cast of central character - 10, I think - all on the earth since millennia BC, all un-aging (and the inspiration for our myths and legends) and all massively bored.
Which, unfortunately, is how I felt for large parts of the movie - it actually took me several attempts to make it the whole way through (watched in Disney+).
I've heard it works better the second time around, once you know a few key plot points and details, but I'm not in any hurry for a rewatch,
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Minari (2020) in Movies
Aug 5, 2021
Minari is a wonderfully realised and fleshed out tale of family, failure, hope, aging, faith, and gender expectations.
It has excellent sprinklings of humour throughout its very human and often crushing narrative, and is backed by one of the most beautiful music scores I've ever heard.
The entire cast is superb, especially Yuh-Jung Youn, who essentially plays two characters to great effect, and then of course to Alan Kim, quite possibly the most adorable kid in the history of film, and who puts in one hell of a performance. This is all complimented by some seriously stunning cinematography, which manages to achieve an almost dream like quality amongst all the realism.
Minari is a triumphant piece of cinema, that managed to absolutely break me and had me on the verge of tears for most of the second half. Thanks a lot Minari you emotional, brilliant bastard.
It has excellent sprinklings of humour throughout its very human and often crushing narrative, and is backed by one of the most beautiful music scores I've ever heard.
The entire cast is superb, especially Yuh-Jung Youn, who essentially plays two characters to great effect, and then of course to Alan Kim, quite possibly the most adorable kid in the history of film, and who puts in one hell of a performance. This is all complimented by some seriously stunning cinematography, which manages to achieve an almost dream like quality amongst all the realism.
Minari is a triumphant piece of cinema, that managed to absolutely break me and had me on the verge of tears for most of the second half. Thanks a lot Minari you emotional, brilliant bastard.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post
Jul 11, 2021
Bookapotamus (289 KP) rated Starting with Goodbye: A Daughter's Memoir of Love after Loss in Books
May 29, 2018
An intimate portrayal of Lisa Romeos larger-than-life father, Starting With Goodbye is so raw and emotional it gave me all the feels. All of them. This narrative hits particularly close to home, realizing how hard it is to come to terms with aging parents, and our aging selves.
This is a hard book to rate. You watch Lisa go through these feelings, ups and downs, and roller-coasters of emotions, yet I see the privilege and the money and just can't connect, and in some instances - I can't feel for her. But this is her story - I can't fault her for having what I did not.
Having this intimate look inside of her grief feels almost like spying, like we don't belong here, this isn't our story to read. But it's all part of it. But loss is loss, and it's sad all around and it's so very interesting to see inside someones head at their most painful moments.
I marvel in how she processes the loss of her father. It's brave. It's commendable. The things she does, and admits - I don't know if I could. I feel like I learned a lot, yet I'll still be unprepared as the same moments in life come for myself.
I believe if every person wrote the memoir of a beloved parents passing - they'd all be so different. Different stories and heartfelt memories of the past and completely unalike ways of grieving and how one handles it. But they'd all be the same: raw, sad, and beautiful.
I read this because I was curious... who would write something so personal, and so private? But I didn't find myself all that sad reading this. I was sad FOR her, but mostly I admired Lisa (and her eloquent prose), I adored her "mobster" dad, Tony, and I smiled at her story - because she wrote an ode to her hero and was courageous in doing so. It was like the ultimate love story between a daughter and her father.
This is a hard book to rate. You watch Lisa go through these feelings, ups and downs, and roller-coasters of emotions, yet I see the privilege and the money and just can't connect, and in some instances - I can't feel for her. But this is her story - I can't fault her for having what I did not.
Having this intimate look inside of her grief feels almost like spying, like we don't belong here, this isn't our story to read. But it's all part of it. But loss is loss, and it's sad all around and it's so very interesting to see inside someones head at their most painful moments.
I marvel in how she processes the loss of her father. It's brave. It's commendable. The things she does, and admits - I don't know if I could. I feel like I learned a lot, yet I'll still be unprepared as the same moments in life come for myself.
I believe if every person wrote the memoir of a beloved parents passing - they'd all be so different. Different stories and heartfelt memories of the past and completely unalike ways of grieving and how one handles it. But they'd all be the same: raw, sad, and beautiful.
I read this because I was curious... who would write something so personal, and so private? But I didn't find myself all that sad reading this. I was sad FOR her, but mostly I admired Lisa (and her eloquent prose), I adored her "mobster" dad, Tony, and I smiled at her story - because she wrote an ode to her hero and was courageous in doing so. It was like the ultimate love story between a daughter and her father.
Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated Run All Night (2015) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Run All Night” is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. The film stars Liam
Neeson, Joel Kinnaman and Ed Harris.
Liam Neeson plays Jimmy Conlon, an aging hit man who seems to be trying
to come to terms (and failing) with the bad things that he has done in
his life for Irish Mob boss Shawn Maguire(Ed Harris). Jimmy and his son
Mike (Joel Kinnamen) have no relationship, and Jimmy is alone in the
world except for Shawn.
In a convoluted story line, Shawns son Danny (Boyd Holbrook) tries to
“prove himself” to his father by arranging a deal with some drug running
Albanians, but since Shawn has taken his business away from dealing with
anything to do with drugs because of the people he has lost over that
sort of business, Shawn refuses the deal.
Things quickly head south, and in an even more convoluted story line,
Danny ends up dead, by Jimmys’ hand.
Shawn vows to get even, and the remainder of the movie is spent in car
chases, shoot outs, burning buildings, near escapes, and deaths.
I was pulled into the movie, and found myself caring what happened to
the main characters.
It was rather predictable, in the way that all “Mob” movies are
predictable, with the shooting and car chases etc.
What wasn’t so predictable was the amount of “caring” that Neeson was
able to project and portray and how invested he was able to make me as
an audience member. He played the part of an aging, emotionally and
physically beat down guy, with regrets about his relationship with his
son, trying against all odds to “make it right” this one last time, to
protect his family, at any cost to himself. I was pulling for him to be
able to get it done.
The one part of the movie that i didn’t like was the “swooping” with the
camera angles, when jumping (literally) from one scene or location to
the next in the movie. I found it to be dizzying and I had to close my
eyes until those parts were done.
Neeson, Joel Kinnaman and Ed Harris.
Liam Neeson plays Jimmy Conlon, an aging hit man who seems to be trying
to come to terms (and failing) with the bad things that he has done in
his life for Irish Mob boss Shawn Maguire(Ed Harris). Jimmy and his son
Mike (Joel Kinnamen) have no relationship, and Jimmy is alone in the
world except for Shawn.
In a convoluted story line, Shawns son Danny (Boyd Holbrook) tries to
“prove himself” to his father by arranging a deal with some drug running
Albanians, but since Shawn has taken his business away from dealing with
anything to do with drugs because of the people he has lost over that
sort of business, Shawn refuses the deal.
Things quickly head south, and in an even more convoluted story line,
Danny ends up dead, by Jimmys’ hand.
Shawn vows to get even, and the remainder of the movie is spent in car
chases, shoot outs, burning buildings, near escapes, and deaths.
I was pulled into the movie, and found myself caring what happened to
the main characters.
It was rather predictable, in the way that all “Mob” movies are
predictable, with the shooting and car chases etc.
What wasn’t so predictable was the amount of “caring” that Neeson was
able to project and portray and how invested he was able to make me as
an audience member. He played the part of an aging, emotionally and
physically beat down guy, with regrets about his relationship with his
son, trying against all odds to “make it right” this one last time, to
protect his family, at any cost to himself. I was pulling for him to be
able to get it done.
The one part of the movie that i didn’t like was the “swooping” with the
camera angles, when jumping (literally) from one scene or location to
the next in the movie. I found it to be dizzying and I had to close my
eyes until those parts were done.