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Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated All Grown Up in Books

Jan 3, 2018 (Updated Jan 3, 2018)  
All Grown Up
All Grown Up
Jami Attenberg | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Entertaining, a more realistic Sex and the City
This is a fictional but all too real account of one woman’s voyage through life, battered by family, societal pressures and her own inner demons. Andrea, the character at the heart of the book, is absolutely clear that she does not want a child of her own.

Her life is spread eagled across the pages for the reader to pick over. Each chapter is a snapshot of an episode in her life, whether it is looking back over some of her chaotic childhood years - Dad was a drug user who died too early; Mum, once on her own again, runs bi-monthly dinner parties in the 1990s attended by only men, who of course try and hit on Andrea, a teenager at the time; or whether it is an examination of her relationships with her friends, lovers and acquaintances who pass through her life now.

Andrea also has a brother who in turn has a daughter, only tiny, who was born with a congenital problem and her life expectancy is only around four years. Yet, our self absorbed protagonist does not really visit to offer support because she is so wrapped up in her own world. She simply does not have the mental capacity and resources to give to her brother and little niece.

This is an interesting read, on-point in many ways – it smacks of New York and of lives lived in the city, Freudian Angst, neuroses and all the shtick of metropolitan Manhattan. At times, it did feel a little cliched but may be we all repeat the same patterns?
  
Days of Heaven (1978)
Days of Heaven (1978)
1978 | Drama
Gorgeous sprawling vistas
While I am still a Terrence Malick novice, I truly appreciate the small amount of his films I have seen. Having recently watched The Tree of Life which I found amazing I thought I would look up a few more to see what I was missing.

In or around 1916 middle America, an expansive wheat farm is worked for harvesting by hoards of day laborers. The landowner takes a fancy to one of his prettiest workers and asks her to stay on along with her brother and little sister. Little does the man know the other man is indeed her beau instead of her brother. A love triangle develops after she marries the rich man that slowly builds in tension until the poor couple's relationship is uncovered.

Peril comes to the farm in the form of locusts which threaten the crops and a subsequent fire which could destroy the fields completely.

I have found when I watch a Malick film, an very important supporting character is the landscape, atmosphere and world of nature around their human counterparts. In this film, the majestic fields are supplemented with shots of animals in the fields, vast sky and cloud formations and even unseen plants fighting to break through the soil.

I think these elements add much to deepen the immersion of the audience into the story Malick is telling and helps you accept the world around them quickly.

Richard Gere, Brooke Adams and the handsome Sam Shepard (they all looked so young) were beautifully photographed and played their parts well as we believed their emotions completely.

A truly magnificent film!

  
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Lindsay (1774 KP) rated The Lost Pulse in Books

Dec 19, 2019  
The Lost Pulse
The Lost Pulse
J.K. Kelly | 2019
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Well, we are back with this time travel of a book. This one was a bit more less entertaining. It was still worth reading and receiving. We get back to traveling back in time. Only now we are mostly in the modern time.

If you are into terrorism what would you do if you could go back in time and stop maybe without changing history? We see what happens when something happens that happens to kill a member of the special team? Was it his fault? This make a decision seems to affect a member that not in the military when her brother is killed?

What happens to Michelle Jackson once her brother is killed? When JJ and the president cant not go back and save him? There seems to be a regret that JJ has? What is it?

We seem to follow Michelle a bit more and also end up in Italy for a few missions. What missions they do go on. Will they help or hurt their BOTM options? Will their be something of nature that the members to need to learn.

What happens to the pulses and if they can get more or not. The author does it once again with this book. What happens to JJ and his wife Michelle? The President seems more involved. What will happen with him? I will want to know how this continues. There are twists an turns though out the book. This is really good for science fiction fans and along with time travel fans. Are you into history, well this book take you on journey back in time as well.
  
Onward (2020)
Onward (2020)
2020 | Adventure, Animation, Comedy
The magicians at PIXAR have returned with the new animated film “Onward”. The film stars Chris Pratt as Barley and Tom Holland as his younger brother Ian. The two brothers live with their mother Laurel (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), following the loss of their father before Ian was even born.

This has resulted in Ian being unsure of himself as on his 16th Birthday he still lacks confidence, cannot drive, and is embarrassed by his over the top brother.

The fact that both Ian and Barley are Elves who live in a modern world filled with mythical creatures is what makes this such an interesting premise.

When a gift is revealed that will be able to give Ian and Barley a chance to temporarily reunite with their father to give them both the closure they seek, the duo are forced to take on an epic adventure in a race against time.

Naturally the impulsive Barley and the cautious Ian must overcome many obstacles both physical and emotional along the way as they bond and face a myriad of creatures in a race against time to complete their quest.

The film is an enjoyable enough tale and the cast is very strong. The biggest Issue I had is that the plot is fairly linear and may not have enough twists and variation to sustain an older audience during the full run time.

Thankfully there is some amazing animation to go with the great cast and the abundance of Medieval gags in a modern setting make this one that the entire family could enjoy and hopefully will start a new franchise for the studio.
4 stars out of 5
  
    Makers

    Makers

    Cory Doctorow

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    Book

    What does the future look like? A brilliantly entertaining and original novel about the end of the...

2001: A Space Odyssey by Richard Strauss
2001: A Space Odyssey by Richard Strauss
1968
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"One of the first records I remember having any kind of relationship to was the soundtrack to 2001. At that point, I wasn’t allowed to put the needle on the record, but my dad would put it on, and, looking back now, I liked it ’cause it it scared me. There’s a lot of spooky stuff on there. I wanted to hear the record that was going to freak me out, and I wanted my dad in the room while it was being played. Growing up in Temple, Texas, my dad was the looser parent, the kind of guy who would wake the kids up in the morning by turning the stereo on really loud and blasting some upbeat music. In fact, the neighbor was always calling over to tell him to turn his stereo down. Later, he became a little more strict and got more religious; now he goes to mass every day. My parents split up in ’79, when I was 8. It was a pretty acrimonious break up. By then, I had a younger brother and sister, and we would go see my dad every other weekend. There was a certain voice my mom reserved only for my dad—when she would pick up the phone and use this voice, I knew it was him: “Oh hello.” There was a lot of animosity there for a long time, but as of the last couple of years, we have all shared Thanksgiving together for the first time since 1978, which has been really nice. My little brother now has a kid, so that brings everybody together."

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