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BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Red Sparrow (2018) in Movies
Mar 3, 2018
A Sexy spy thriller that would have been better without the SEXY
The new Jennifer Lawrence spy thriller RED SPARROW is being advertised as a "sexy" thriller, and if you watch the trailers for it, you would think it was a Jason Bourne/Mission Impossible-type of action thriller - with "sexy" action - and you would be misled and disappointed.
For, RED SPARROW, is a sexy, intelligent, inner-workings, "out-smart-the-other-guy" type of spy thriller in more of the mode of a John LeCarre novel (like TINKER, TAILOR, SOLIDER, SPY). It does have some action and some GRAPHIC torture scenes, but I would not classify it as an action film, so those looking for that will be bored.
RED SPARROW follows the tale of Bolshoi Ballet Prima Ballerina, Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) who, after an accident ends her ballet career, is drawn into the deadly world of International Intelligence by her Uncle and must her her body as well as her mind to survive.
This is billed - and shot - as a "sexy" thriller with "SEXY" being the primary driving force - and that is too bad, for I found the sex and nudity to be gratuitous and didn't really drive the narrative forward. When the film stopped focusing on this aspect and focused on the mystery - and misdirection - at hand and Dominika's ability to outsmart and outhink those around her, that the film really catches it's footing and is quite good.
Unfortunately, you have to sit through the first 1/2 of this film - the training portion - and that is filled with gratuitous sex and sexual conquest and using your sex to disarm the enemy. It's an unfortunate choice that almost took me out of the movie, so when the (really) good second half of the film came about, I was surprised by it.
But if you can get through that, you'll be rewarded by a pretty good, pretty smart, pretty INTELLIGENT thriller.
Letter Grade: B (C for the 1st half, A for the 2nd half)
7 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
For, RED SPARROW, is a sexy, intelligent, inner-workings, "out-smart-the-other-guy" type of spy thriller in more of the mode of a John LeCarre novel (like TINKER, TAILOR, SOLIDER, SPY). It does have some action and some GRAPHIC torture scenes, but I would not classify it as an action film, so those looking for that will be bored.
RED SPARROW follows the tale of Bolshoi Ballet Prima Ballerina, Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) who, after an accident ends her ballet career, is drawn into the deadly world of International Intelligence by her Uncle and must her her body as well as her mind to survive.
This is billed - and shot - as a "sexy" thriller with "SEXY" being the primary driving force - and that is too bad, for I found the sex and nudity to be gratuitous and didn't really drive the narrative forward. When the film stopped focusing on this aspect and focused on the mystery - and misdirection - at hand and Dominika's ability to outsmart and outhink those around her, that the film really catches it's footing and is quite good.
Unfortunately, you have to sit through the first 1/2 of this film - the training portion - and that is filled with gratuitous sex and sexual conquest and using your sex to disarm the enemy. It's an unfortunate choice that almost took me out of the movie, so when the (really) good second half of the film came about, I was surprised by it.
But if you can get through that, you'll be rewarded by a pretty good, pretty smart, pretty INTELLIGENT thriller.
Letter Grade: B (C for the 1st half, A for the 2nd half)
7 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated Woolly and Me in Books
Jun 16, 2018
Woolly and Me by Quentin Greban is a story that shows the power of a young child's imagination. This is a charming book that is packed full of playful imagination and lots of love. A little girl has a woolly mammoth for her best friend. She plays with him and nurtures him and includes him in everything that she does.
They ride in the car, go to the grocery store together, paint fun pictures, go biking outside, take ballet lessons, and teaches him how to use the bathroom properly. She gently comforts him when he is frightened of monsters at bedtime or gets scared on the roller coaster at the local fair. She bandages up his many boo boos when he has been hurt.
At the end of the story there is a twist. The twist will both surprise and delight the reader sparking both conversion and laughter. The illustrations are whimsical, witty and fun. I enjoyed the book and I highly recommend it to readers of all ages.
They ride in the car, go to the grocery store together, paint fun pictures, go biking outside, take ballet lessons, and teaches him how to use the bathroom properly. She gently comforts him when he is frightened of monsters at bedtime or gets scared on the roller coaster at the local fair. She bandages up his many boo boos when he has been hurt.
At the end of the story there is a twist. The twist will both surprise and delight the reader sparking both conversion and laughter. The illustrations are whimsical, witty and fun. I enjoyed the book and I highly recommend it to readers of all ages.
Andy K (10821 KP) rated Red Sparrow (2018) in Movies
Dec 30, 2018
Clever espionage thriller
While Jennifer Lawrence may not be my favorite (or I haven't seen a lot of her films), I thought she held her own and did an amicable job (maybe the accent not so much) through this heavy plot in a slightly too long thriller.
She plays a ballet dancer who is forced t work for the government in trade for state sponsored benefits for her and her mother to continue.
The plot gets a little muddled and confusing as to who is on which side in the middle of the film. People keep switching sides or double crossing each other so it becomes hard to follow at times.
It felt like the film could've lost like 20 minutes and been more coherent and quicker paced. Having not read the book, I cannot compare it (although differing from the book does not make it worse). I'll go to my grave defending that point.
I was never bored while watching and would definitely recommend.
She plays a ballet dancer who is forced t work for the government in trade for state sponsored benefits for her and her mother to continue.
The plot gets a little muddled and confusing as to who is on which side in the middle of the film. People keep switching sides or double crossing each other so it becomes hard to follow at times.
It felt like the film could've lost like 20 minutes and been more coherent and quicker paced. Having not read the book, I cannot compare it (although differing from the book does not make it worse). I'll go to my grave defending that point.
I was never bored while watching and would definitely recommend.
colin... (64 KP) rated Cats (2019) in Movies
Sep 30, 2020
As a man who has been through the musical theater ringer, I can confidently say that this is one of the worst things, if not the worst thing, that I have seen this year. It is incompetent at all of the aspects that set apart a musical from a normal film. The choreography is bland and uninspired, as it takes the most basic steps of ballet and refuses them to a nauseating degree. The singing on all parts is bone-chillingly awful, even for the people cast who can actually sing! The song to story ratio is obscenely high and doesn't give the audience any time to breathe whatsoever, especially my girlfriend who was in bewildered amazement and horror the entire time. As for aspects that fall under the actual filming aspect, the mocap is disgusting, the acting is subpar on all counts and the mess of a story resembles a poorly baked cookie just crumbling at the slightest breeze.
Thanks for ending the year off with a bang that we haven't seen since the Boston bombing.
Thanks for ending the year off with a bang that we haven't seen since the Boston bombing.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy: Curiouser And Curiouser in Books
Apr 27, 2018
Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy is a collection of essays by various contributors, many of which have contributed to other books in the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series. Many questions that went unasked are brought forth and argued, and many things that you never thought twice about are exposed.
I am a long-time Alice lover, having read and listened to the stories my whole life and played a part in the Disney-ballet. I love Carroll’s stories for what they are, and I see the beauty in chaos and nonsense. However I did enjoy reading through these essays, and gaining a new perspective on the classic adventure of Wonderland.
Although, to a certain extent, I can’t help but side with the party that it’s just a sweet silly story about a girl who wasn’t quite ready to face reality, until she realized what a mess nonsense can be.
This collection of intriguing essays will leaving you wondering about Wonderland more than you ever have before.
Recommendation: Ages 12+ for Alice lovers who want to think outside the box and deeper than before.
I am a long-time Alice lover, having read and listened to the stories my whole life and played a part in the Disney-ballet. I love Carroll’s stories for what they are, and I see the beauty in chaos and nonsense. However I did enjoy reading through these essays, and gaining a new perspective on the classic adventure of Wonderland.
Although, to a certain extent, I can’t help but side with the party that it’s just a sweet silly story about a girl who wasn’t quite ready to face reality, until she realized what a mess nonsense can be.
This collection of intriguing essays will leaving you wondering about Wonderland more than you ever have before.
Recommendation: Ages 12+ for Alice lovers who want to think outside the box and deeper than before.
Carma (21 KP) rated Bad Reputation (Bad Bachelors, #2) in Books
Jun 17, 2019
Bad Reputation by Stefanie London is the first book Ive read by this author after meeting her briefly at a reader event in June 2018. Bad Reputation is the 2nd book in this series but not having read the first one before diving into this one hasnt really affected my enjoyment of this novel. The theme of the first 2 books centers around an app called Bad Bachelor, which essentially allows people to rate and review dates online. The first book set the stage for this continuation of story with Wes being the target of reviews online.
Wes is the son of famous dance parents. He has lived in the world of ballet and dance his entire life. He wants to break free of his family name and legacy and start something on his own, he leaves the family business much to the chagrin of his very opinionated mother. He comes up with an idea for an off-off broadway show that will engage the audience right into the middle of the show. Now all he needs are investors and a star dancer for the female lead. With a website posting reviews about his manhood threatening to derail any hope of funding he needs to find a way to get his show off the ground.
Remi is an ex ballerina currently living in New York teaching ballet class at her friends studio. She has dream of opening her own studio now that her career in the dance world looks to be over. A chance meeting at one of her parent/kid classes has her reconsidering giving up on her dream. But can she put her past mistakes behind her and not head down the same ruining road of disaster.
I really enjoyed the dynamic of Wes and his mother, his father was pretty much talked about not actually to during this novel. Wes was trying his hardest to show his mother that he can make it on his own, without being a disappointment to the family name, while waiting for her to dish out an I told you so.
I wasnt sure I liked the gossip articles, review blurbs etc that were at the beginning of each new chapter. At the beginning they were very distracting, but as the story went on they really added to and became part of the story. I received an advance copy from the publishers without any expectation for review. Any and all opinions expressed are solely my own. I cant wait to read many more books from Stefanie London, starting with Bad Bachelor (Book 1 in this series)
Wes is the son of famous dance parents. He has lived in the world of ballet and dance his entire life. He wants to break free of his family name and legacy and start something on his own, he leaves the family business much to the chagrin of his very opinionated mother. He comes up with an idea for an off-off broadway show that will engage the audience right into the middle of the show. Now all he needs are investors and a star dancer for the female lead. With a website posting reviews about his manhood threatening to derail any hope of funding he needs to find a way to get his show off the ground.
Remi is an ex ballerina currently living in New York teaching ballet class at her friends studio. She has dream of opening her own studio now that her career in the dance world looks to be over. A chance meeting at one of her parent/kid classes has her reconsidering giving up on her dream. But can she put her past mistakes behind her and not head down the same ruining road of disaster.
I really enjoyed the dynamic of Wes and his mother, his father was pretty much talked about not actually to during this novel. Wes was trying his hardest to show his mother that he can make it on his own, without being a disappointment to the family name, while waiting for her to dish out an I told you so.
I wasnt sure I liked the gossip articles, review blurbs etc that were at the beginning of each new chapter. At the beginning they were very distracting, but as the story went on they really added to and became part of the story. I received an advance copy from the publishers without any expectation for review. Any and all opinions expressed are solely my own. I cant wait to read many more books from Stefanie London, starting with Bad Bachelor (Book 1 in this series)
Anand Wilder recommended Bugsy Malone Soundtrack by Paul Williams in Music (curated)
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Pretty Reckless (All Saints High, #1) in Books
Jan 8, 2021
This review and more can be found at my blog https://aromancereadersreviews.blogspot.com
A Romance Reader's Reviews
Got this from the Kindle Unlimited library.
This starts with the prologue at age 14, when Daria is at ballet practise with her rival for her mothers affection and attention, Via - a gifted but very feisty girl. It turns out she's that good that she's been accepted into a prestigious ballet school but in her jealousy Daria steals the letter and meets a boy outside a coffee shop a short distance away. A boy who wanted her to give him all her firsts. He gives her a bit of orange sea glass and rips up the letter she's holding when she tells him it's what she wants most in the world.
Fast forward four years and Daria and the boy, Penn, are now bitter rivals because of the events following the letter rip up. They come from rival schools. He's a football player, she's a cheerleader. He's poor, she's rich. They're opposites in a lot of ways and have reason to dislike each other but that initial connection from four years ago keeps rearing back up and they're drawn to each other time and time again.
I was a little undecided about our couple for quite a while. I did not find what they were doing hot and didn't understand it. But strangely, I got attached to them and wanted them to get together. I realised that they made the other one a better person, and in Daria's case, I think she needed it.
She came across as being such a bitch at times but internally she hated it, cowering away from what she'd just said and the damage she'd inflicted. I couldn't really believe that she'd done half the stuff in regards to her mum. It just seemed a step too far for me at times. Yeah, fair enough, her mum wasn't the most...loving or understanding at times, but still, it was harsh.
The romance did grow on me quite a lot, though, and by the 60% mark I was hooked on them. I wanted them to conquer everyone and everything that was thrown in their path. I cried like a baby for quite a while around the 70-75% mark, that's how invested I was in them.
There were a lot of secrets and lies going on in this and it was a little hard to keep track but I'm glad that in the end Penn and Daria got their HEA.
I'm interested in seeing how all the All Saints High parents got together as I loved that scene where they all banded together to get justice for Daria. Mess with one, mess with them all.
A Romance Reader's Reviews
Got this from the Kindle Unlimited library.
This starts with the prologue at age 14, when Daria is at ballet practise with her rival for her mothers affection and attention, Via - a gifted but very feisty girl. It turns out she's that good that she's been accepted into a prestigious ballet school but in her jealousy Daria steals the letter and meets a boy outside a coffee shop a short distance away. A boy who wanted her to give him all her firsts. He gives her a bit of orange sea glass and rips up the letter she's holding when she tells him it's what she wants most in the world.
Fast forward four years and Daria and the boy, Penn, are now bitter rivals because of the events following the letter rip up. They come from rival schools. He's a football player, she's a cheerleader. He's poor, she's rich. They're opposites in a lot of ways and have reason to dislike each other but that initial connection from four years ago keeps rearing back up and they're drawn to each other time and time again.
I was a little undecided about our couple for quite a while. I did not find what they were doing hot and didn't understand it. But strangely, I got attached to them and wanted them to get together. I realised that they made the other one a better person, and in Daria's case, I think she needed it.
She came across as being such a bitch at times but internally she hated it, cowering away from what she'd just said and the damage she'd inflicted. I couldn't really believe that she'd done half the stuff in regards to her mum. It just seemed a step too far for me at times. Yeah, fair enough, her mum wasn't the most...loving or understanding at times, but still, it was harsh.
The romance did grow on me quite a lot, though, and by the 60% mark I was hooked on them. I wanted them to conquer everyone and everything that was thrown in their path. I cried like a baby for quite a while around the 70-75% mark, that's how invested I was in them.
There were a lot of secrets and lies going on in this and it was a little hard to keep track but I'm glad that in the end Penn and Daria got their HEA.
I'm interested in seeing how all the All Saints High parents got together as I loved that scene where they all banded together to get justice for Daria. Mess with one, mess with them all.
Biff Byford recommended Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols by The Sex Pistols in Music (curated)
Lindsay (1693 KP) rated Dragons Don't Dance Ballet in Books
Jan 17, 2021
Dragons are not for breathing fire. They're a friendly dragon that has dreams of her own. She wants to dance. The title of this book is “Dragons Don't Dance Ballet”. What a way to say you can not have what you want.
But Esmeralda Dragon thinks she can't fit in and with the image of her body she thinks she can not dance. Well, this book helps with body image and encourages you to keep going and trying to fulfill your dreams. It also teaches us to never give up.
Will Esmeralda Dragon get what she wants or will she give up on trying. She has a friend Harold and he comes to encourage her. He does seem to step up when everyone else does not. You will be surprised by how this ends.
The pictures are done well. Just cause you do not look like others does not mean you can not fit it. You just are different and need to do things differently. Will Esmeralda Dragon get to dance? Children should try and keep trying to reach their dreams. They should never give up if they want to reach them. This seems to be what this book is about. The meaning of it along with the body being different. That should not matter if you can do something.
But Esmeralda Dragon thinks she can't fit in and with the image of her body she thinks she can not dance. Well, this book helps with body image and encourages you to keep going and trying to fulfill your dreams. It also teaches us to never give up.
Will Esmeralda Dragon get what she wants or will she give up on trying. She has a friend Harold and he comes to encourage her. He does seem to step up when everyone else does not. You will be surprised by how this ends.
The pictures are done well. Just cause you do not look like others does not mean you can not fit it. You just are different and need to do things differently. Will Esmeralda Dragon get to dance? Children should try and keep trying to reach their dreams. They should never give up if they want to reach them. This seems to be what this book is about. The meaning of it along with the body being different. That should not matter if you can do something.