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graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Much Ado About You (Essex Sisters, #1) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
Much Ado About You was a lovely historical romance. Eloisa James' writing has an almost lyrical lilt to it that is fresh and delightful. The story was nicely told and paced, and felt more true-to-life than others I've read in the same genre. Tess was a wonderful and likable heroine who was smart, witty and confident. I look forward to future installments and can't wait for Imogen to grow up and mature. All along the book reminded me a bit of Little Women, even though I've never read it and only seen the film version with Winona Ryder, and in the back of the book Ms. James acknowledges that she was inspired by Louisa May Alcott. My only quibble would be that Lucius could have been more fleshed out and the end seemed a bit abrupt. Other than that, I really enjoyed this quick and easy foray into Eloisa James' charming and witty world of the Essex sisters.
Deborah Harry: The Biography
Book
"I was hugely influenced by Debbie Harry when I started out as a singer and songwriter. I thought...
Cinematic Philosophy: 2016
Book
In this book, Tal S. Shamir sets out to identify cinema as a novel medium for philosophy and an...
ClareR (6256 KP) rated Deacon King Kong in Books
Oct 27, 2021
Deacon King Kong is a wonderful book, revolving around the alcoholic Deacon Cuffy Lambkin, aka Sportcoat, and how in an alcohol fuelled haze, he shoots the ear of the local drug dealer. His community pulls together and tries to protect him from the inevitable retribution. And so we are introduced to and learn about the different people who, in some way, touch Sportcoats life: from his blind son and dead wife (who, thanks to the alcohol he drinks, he speaks to regularly), to the women who run the church, to the police officers connected to the case, the drug ring, the local Italian crime boss and his elderly mother, and Sportcoats best friend, Hot Sausage.
They’re all such well-rounded, well-written, real characters, and it all played out in my head like a film (has this been optioned yet?!). I love it when a book does that.
They all seemed to be genuinely nice characters who are getting by as best they can in a culture where drugs are King and poor boys and men of colour are rarely given a chance in life.
Honestly, you should read it. Highly recommended.
They’re all such well-rounded, well-written, real characters, and it all played out in my head like a film (has this been optioned yet?!). I love it when a book does that.
They all seemed to be genuinely nice characters who are getting by as best they can in a culture where drugs are King and poor boys and men of colour are rarely given a chance in life.
Honestly, you should read it. Highly recommended.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated The Darkest Minds (2018) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
A real drawback to this film is that the story line is designed to be several pieces, so you don't get a complete tale, just a cliffhanger of an ending as a lead up to the next one... but are there going to be anymore after the majority of people seem to think it was a flop? I did some vague Googling but it was next to impossible to find anything useful on the subject without wading through all the negative reviews.
I found it really difficult to rate this one. I enjoyed it a lot. I liked the action and the story idea, and the effects were very good... but... much like with the Maze Runner films it will probably stand up better as a collection of films rather than as it is on it's own.
Having only just started the book (I know, finally one I've actually begun and not just got on the shelf!) I'm not sure exactly how dark Ruby's character goes. In a desperate move to help her friends she turns on a bounty hunter who is out to get them. She turns her power loose and tells her to walk into the woods, and keep walking... which now I think about it we've seen in X-Men haven't we? How, or even if, this is represented in the book I do not know, but it's quite a dark moment for this innocent teenager who hasn't really done anything with any malice before now.
The film is somehow a little bit samey while being different all at the same time. I've been wavering between three and four stars on this one, but I think what sealed it's fate is that I would only actually buy this if I was going to be getting all the movies to complete the saga.
I found it really difficult to rate this one. I enjoyed it a lot. I liked the action and the story idea, and the effects were very good... but... much like with the Maze Runner films it will probably stand up better as a collection of films rather than as it is on it's own.
Having only just started the book (I know, finally one I've actually begun and not just got on the shelf!) I'm not sure exactly how dark Ruby's character goes. In a desperate move to help her friends she turns on a bounty hunter who is out to get them. She turns her power loose and tells her to walk into the woods, and keep walking... which now I think about it we've seen in X-Men haven't we? How, or even if, this is represented in the book I do not know, but it's quite a dark moment for this innocent teenager who hasn't really done anything with any malice before now.
The film is somehow a little bit samey while being different all at the same time. I've been wavering between three and four stars on this one, but I think what sealed it's fate is that I would only actually buy this if I was going to be getting all the movies to complete the saga.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated Madam Tulip and the Bones of Chance (Madam Tulip #3) in Books
Sep 24, 2020
This novel is the third book in Madam Tulip Mystery series, and overall, it left me longing for the mystery and Madam Tulip herself. In this novel, Derry and Bruce have to travel to Scotland to shoot a movie, where they meet and befriend some rich people. The shooting doesn’t go as well as planned, and like always, Derry is left empty-handed and involved in some serious criminal activities.
Through the pages of this novel, we not only, once again meet Derry’s closest friends and her eccentric parents, but also some new, quite strong characters. From a wide variety to choose, in this book, my favourite was personal assistant Jessica. Ambitious, career-oriented and overall strong character. That is what I liked about this novel, that author portrayed females as independent and powerful creations, who are not afraid to fight for what they want. #GirlPower
I don’t know, was it the Scottish moors or the stone castles that left me quite gloomy with the plot of this book. Like in previous books, the narrative is told from a single perspective, sharing only Derry’s point of view. There were some action and interesting nuances, but I missed Madam Tulip’s mystery and persona in this novel.(She showed up only once) For me, half of the book really dragged, and another half, was more interesting, but it felt very rushed. There are some of the things mentioned from the previous book so, I would recommend reading other parts before digging into this one.
The writing style was pleasant to read, and the language used was easily understandable. The chapters of this book were a decent length and didn’t bore me. The ending felt pleasant, and for me, concluded the story nicely. So, to conclude, even though I missed more mystery and more spice, it was an interesting experience, where I had a great insight into behind the scenes of film shooting and sets, so if you into this kind of thing, give this book a try, and hopefully, you will enjoy it
Through the pages of this novel, we not only, once again meet Derry’s closest friends and her eccentric parents, but also some new, quite strong characters. From a wide variety to choose, in this book, my favourite was personal assistant Jessica. Ambitious, career-oriented and overall strong character. That is what I liked about this novel, that author portrayed females as independent and powerful creations, who are not afraid to fight for what they want. #GirlPower
I don’t know, was it the Scottish moors or the stone castles that left me quite gloomy with the plot of this book. Like in previous books, the narrative is told from a single perspective, sharing only Derry’s point of view. There were some action and interesting nuances, but I missed Madam Tulip’s mystery and persona in this novel.(She showed up only once) For me, half of the book really dragged, and another half, was more interesting, but it felt very rushed. There are some of the things mentioned from the previous book so, I would recommend reading other parts before digging into this one.
The writing style was pleasant to read, and the language used was easily understandable. The chapters of this book were a decent length and didn’t bore me. The ending felt pleasant, and for me, concluded the story nicely. So, to conclude, even though I missed more mystery and more spice, it was an interesting experience, where I had a great insight into behind the scenes of film shooting and sets, so if you into this kind of thing, give this book a try, and hopefully, you will enjoy it
Darren (1599 KP) rated I Like Me (2018) in Movies
Sep 13, 2019
Characters – Maggie is a free spirit that has spent most of her life being carefree, she returns home for her father’s funeral where she invites herself to stay with her half-sister, Maggie will drink too much and cause constant stress in her sister’s life, while not even getting a conversation out of her son. She writes a self-help book that makes her a big star, which offers her a chance to help people, but she struggles to deal with her own problems in life. Hannah is the younger half-sister of Maggie, she is married and looking for a promotion at work, she has her life pretty much together, until Maggie arrives in her life and things start to go wrong. Luke is Hannah’s husband that is still feeling young heart being a fan of disco bowling. Michael is the son of Maggie’s, the person she most wants back in her life, but he keeps his distance from her.
Performances – Sue Schaffel and Anna Fagan take the leading roles, they show us great chemistry through the film as they both have to show the ups and downs of their lives. Chris Kozlowski will get most of the laughs in the film.
Story – The story here follows a free spirit that returns to her home town, where she tries to put her life back together with her self-help book making her an internet sensation, but can she fix her own life before it is too late. This is a story that does focus on the idea that people will need help in everybody life, people might turn to books, but in reality it will always be yourself that helps the most. We do see how people can go off the rails and will try to find their own directions, while we will also people that seem to be grounded, but lack direction. We do get the important messages here and by the end of the film you will understand the meaning behind everything in the story.
Comedy – The comedy in the film comes from Maggie’s action and a lot comes from Luke just trying to be a good husband without ever siding with anybody.
Settings – The film keeps the settings simple enough being everyday home locations, until we go to the disco bowling which adds the colour and fun to the life of the characters.
Scene of the Movie – Disco bowling.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – There could have been more on Maggie’s childhood, like was she raised with Hannah, who was her mother.
Final Thoughts – This is a fun comedy that does have a life message involved, it will get the laughs and has strong performances throughout.
Overall: Fun comedy.
Performances – Sue Schaffel and Anna Fagan take the leading roles, they show us great chemistry through the film as they both have to show the ups and downs of their lives. Chris Kozlowski will get most of the laughs in the film.
Story – The story here follows a free spirit that returns to her home town, where she tries to put her life back together with her self-help book making her an internet sensation, but can she fix her own life before it is too late. This is a story that does focus on the idea that people will need help in everybody life, people might turn to books, but in reality it will always be yourself that helps the most. We do see how people can go off the rails and will try to find their own directions, while we will also people that seem to be grounded, but lack direction. We do get the important messages here and by the end of the film you will understand the meaning behind everything in the story.
Comedy – The comedy in the film comes from Maggie’s action and a lot comes from Luke just trying to be a good husband without ever siding with anybody.
Settings – The film keeps the settings simple enough being everyday home locations, until we go to the disco bowling which adds the colour and fun to the life of the characters.
Scene of the Movie – Disco bowling.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – There could have been more on Maggie’s childhood, like was she raised with Hannah, who was her mother.
Final Thoughts – This is a fun comedy that does have a life message involved, it will get the laughs and has strong performances throughout.
Overall: Fun comedy.
Secrets of Screen Acting
Book
When it was first published in 1993, Secrets of Screen Acting broke new ground in explaining how...
Darren (1599 KP) rated Patient Seven (2016) in Movies
Oct 24, 2019
Characters – Dr Daniel Marcus is the man trying to learn about six disturbed patients at a mental hospital, each story needs to be broken down in a different way, he is doing research for his book, but leaving us wondering what his motives are is the biggest mystery in this film. we do meet the different patients which all have different stories and we follow the events of their stories each different from the rest. We do meet the doctors, but as the film is an anthology we just don’t get enough time to look into their characters.
Performances – Michael Ironside is the star of this film with his calming presence while interviewing the patients that can turn on them in a heartbeat. We have a couple of known names in the supporting cast with Alfie Allen in the second story being the highlight of the rest of the performances, while no one is bad in their roles here, they just don’t get the time they deserve.
Story – The story here is told like an interview process to give us seven short horror stories, the fact each one goes in a different direction helps the audience find one they can enjoy even if the previous one isn’t for them. Vampires, ghost, spirits, serial killers and zombies are the main topics each one feels short enough to be entertaining, even if one did make me want to see a feature film about that character. For a horror anthology this does check the boxes well and is one that can be enjoyed.
Horror – The horror in the story comes from the different stories, while we don’t always get the best build up to the horror moments, we do follow the horror guidelines well.
Settings – Each story does take us to a new setting which helps make the film feel fresh, though I don’t quiet understand how the crimes from England, New Zealand and Iceland ended up in an American mental home.
Special Effects – The effects in the film across the different stories are great and make you feel like you are part of them.
Scene of the Movie – The second story.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Some of the stories are slightly too short though.
Final Thoughts – This is a good horror anthology even if the ending feel slightly flat, we get plenty going on and can enjoy the different ideals of horror.
Overall: Horror anthology does correctly.
Performances – Michael Ironside is the star of this film with his calming presence while interviewing the patients that can turn on them in a heartbeat. We have a couple of known names in the supporting cast with Alfie Allen in the second story being the highlight of the rest of the performances, while no one is bad in their roles here, they just don’t get the time they deserve.
Story – The story here is told like an interview process to give us seven short horror stories, the fact each one goes in a different direction helps the audience find one they can enjoy even if the previous one isn’t for them. Vampires, ghost, spirits, serial killers and zombies are the main topics each one feels short enough to be entertaining, even if one did make me want to see a feature film about that character. For a horror anthology this does check the boxes well and is one that can be enjoyed.
Horror – The horror in the story comes from the different stories, while we don’t always get the best build up to the horror moments, we do follow the horror guidelines well.
Settings – Each story does take us to a new setting which helps make the film feel fresh, though I don’t quiet understand how the crimes from England, New Zealand and Iceland ended up in an American mental home.
Special Effects – The effects in the film across the different stories are great and make you feel like you are part of them.
Scene of the Movie – The second story.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Some of the stories are slightly too short though.
Final Thoughts – This is a good horror anthology even if the ending feel slightly flat, we get plenty going on and can enjoy the different ideals of horror.
Overall: Horror anthology does correctly.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Love, Simon (2018) in Movies
Jun 29, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)
Simon Spier keeps a huge secret from his family, his friends, and all of his classmates: he's gay. When that secret is threatened, Simon must face everyone and come to terms with his identity.
I had been looking forward to this one, book adaptation... of course I was going to be... so getting this as our secret screening was fun great. But it really divided the pack and there was much discussion online about it after. But not so much about the film. I'm going to get the grumpy portion of this out of the way first.
I think this is only the second secret screening I've been to. The first one was Molly's Game, which again, was one I'd been looking forward to seeing, and when the card came up at the beginning I think only one person left. It certainly wasn't many. The card comes up for this one... well, it was like a mass exodus. Without the film even rolling I think we lost about half a dozen people. After the first couple of minutes we lost another load. It was that second lot that made me lose faith in humanity a little, because it wasn't more than seconds after Simon says that he's gay that I heard disapproving noises and footsteps trotting out of seats.
Most people online said the same thing about their cinemas. And I know that you don't have to watch every film ever made. But don't just turn your nose up at it because (and here's me being optimistic) it's a young adult film/novel. If you turned your nose up at it because its main character is gay... well... welcome to the real world, they're here, they're queer, and they're here to stay.
I was pleased to see that lots of people gave it a chance, and many seemed to enjoy it. There was a lot of hate for it from others though, and honestly, when you read the comments for it... well, just don't read the comments. For every good there is a bad, but most of the bad either just walked out or don't really give much in the way of a genuine excuse. Several feel like they're being cheated by Cineworld for showing things that aren't blockbusters... people... this isn't how these things work. Trust me, the company comes to the middle man who presents it to the consumer. Business 101. Companies know that you're going to pay to see their big blockbusters and buy their merchandise... why would they give it to you for free? (Yes I know we all have Unlimited cards and essentially get them for free, but you get my meaning.) There's already hype around them, they don't need more. Anyway, away from my rant.
Love, Simon was a wonderful film, and despite what some are saying, (sorry, swerving into rant territory there again) it was laugh out loud funny... and everyone was laughing. Except those people who left without giving it a chance... wow, sorry, I just can't let this go.
If you haven't quite forgotten your teenage years you'll see lots of bits in this that really ring a bell. Those awkward moments, the crushes, the annoying teachers, the pain. If you've experienced any of them then there will be bits that you physically react to. You can feel the emotions that are running around the characters, you know the decisions they're making are good, bad and terrible, and you can almost see the future. As the story unfolds you really do get pulled along with Simon. You feel his pain and you feel his joy.
A genuine smile inducing film. I think you can see my favourite bit in one of the trailers... straight people not having to come out... it honestly cracked me up.
Of course the book is in the TBR, I'll get round to it eventually. But regardless of how it stacks up next to the book is was a wonderful film. You can only hope that it is enlightening to some that watch it, and helpful to others.
I had been looking forward to this one, book adaptation... of course I was going to be... so getting this as our secret screening was fun great. But it really divided the pack and there was much discussion online about it after. But not so much about the film. I'm going to get the grumpy portion of this out of the way first.
I think this is only the second secret screening I've been to. The first one was Molly's Game, which again, was one I'd been looking forward to seeing, and when the card came up at the beginning I think only one person left. It certainly wasn't many. The card comes up for this one... well, it was like a mass exodus. Without the film even rolling I think we lost about half a dozen people. After the first couple of minutes we lost another load. It was that second lot that made me lose faith in humanity a little, because it wasn't more than seconds after Simon says that he's gay that I heard disapproving noises and footsteps trotting out of seats.
Most people online said the same thing about their cinemas. And I know that you don't have to watch every film ever made. But don't just turn your nose up at it because (and here's me being optimistic) it's a young adult film/novel. If you turned your nose up at it because its main character is gay... well... welcome to the real world, they're here, they're queer, and they're here to stay.
I was pleased to see that lots of people gave it a chance, and many seemed to enjoy it. There was a lot of hate for it from others though, and honestly, when you read the comments for it... well, just don't read the comments. For every good there is a bad, but most of the bad either just walked out or don't really give much in the way of a genuine excuse. Several feel like they're being cheated by Cineworld for showing things that aren't blockbusters... people... this isn't how these things work. Trust me, the company comes to the middle man who presents it to the consumer. Business 101. Companies know that you're going to pay to see their big blockbusters and buy their merchandise... why would they give it to you for free? (Yes I know we all have Unlimited cards and essentially get them for free, but you get my meaning.) There's already hype around them, they don't need more. Anyway, away from my rant.
Love, Simon was a wonderful film, and despite what some are saying, (sorry, swerving into rant territory there again) it was laugh out loud funny... and everyone was laughing. Except those people who left without giving it a chance... wow, sorry, I just can't let this go.
If you haven't quite forgotten your teenage years you'll see lots of bits in this that really ring a bell. Those awkward moments, the crushes, the annoying teachers, the pain. If you've experienced any of them then there will be bits that you physically react to. You can feel the emotions that are running around the characters, you know the decisions they're making are good, bad and terrible, and you can almost see the future. As the story unfolds you really do get pulled along with Simon. You feel his pain and you feel his joy.
A genuine smile inducing film. I think you can see my favourite bit in one of the trailers... straight people not having to come out... it honestly cracked me up.
Of course the book is in the TBR, I'll get round to it eventually. But regardless of how it stacks up next to the book is was a wonderful film. You can only hope that it is enlightening to some that watch it, and helpful to others.