Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

Robert Eggers recommended Mary Poppins (1964) in Movies (curated)

 
Mary Poppins (1964)
Mary Poppins (1964)
1964 | Classics, Comedy, Family

"Another movie that takes place in the Edwardian era, but in the country where Edward was actually reigning. It was an important movie for me as a kid and it continued to be something that I revisited again because it’s just good. Good storytelling, quite beautiful. You’ve got to love the matte paintings of the London rooftops. You’ve got to love a movie where a witch is your nanny. Obviously, no challenge to Dick van Dyke’s Australian Cockney accent, but his performance in that movie is really incredible. He is such a good physical comedian and when they’re in the chalk painting — which is also just lovely, the live action mix and the animation — he often has the same dance choreography as Julie Andrews. And he interprets it incredibly differently. It’s not that he can’t do them, it’s that he’s interpreting them in a different way, for humor, with his body type and so cleverly. It’s a movie where kids have power. They understand some things that their Edwardian dad doesn’t. And we use a Mary Poppins-esque weathervane shot in The Lighthouse. And then also, as much as it is a very, very satisfying narrative, the movie’s not without mystery. What is Mary Poppins’ backstory? What is her relationship with Bert? She creeps me out. Like when her reflection in the mirror keeps singing after her. The way she’s a little bit austere with the children and then the next minute she’s super cuddly, it is a little creepy. And then it just isn’t her, but when the kids get lost in East London, and there’s the dogs barking, and the old beggar woman who’s like, “Come here, children” or whatever. That was incredibly terrifying as a child."

Source
  
Falling (Fall or Break, #1)
Falling (Fall or Break, #1)
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
DNF @ 37%

This had been on my Amazon wish-list for quite a while before I bought this and then even longer before I got around to reading it. (Another of those A-Z reading challenge reads.)

We start by learning about Malachi and how he's struggling to find a job and living with his sister and her rather mean husband who has a set of rules that Malachi must abide by if he wants to stay there. He does find Malachi a job and in the process Malachi meets the guy he's been obsessing over at the local shop. In rolls Harper, recently released from prison for a crime he didn't commit, he's renovating his old home with his dads money and Malachi ends up working on the house. They both have an attraction to the other but try to ignore it for their own reasons but it's impossible.

I don't know about this one. I can't say I ever really got into it. I carried on for a while longer but it never really...picked up for me. I didn't feel like I cared enough about the characters to carry on so I finally gave up.

The only thing I felt a little interested in was the fact that Harper had been put in prison for a crime he didn't commit and then spent ten years in prison, every appeal shot down in flames, because everyone thought he was guilty. I did feel like an injustice had been served and those two boys needed some sort of karma to come bite them in the arse for the lies they told.

And I liked that it was set in the UK. Most of the books I read are set in America so it's nice to read something set somewhere different.
  
I got this as a freebie a few months ago as I hunted for books to finish my Paranormal Roman & Urban Fantasy A-Z challenge on Goodreads.

This starts with Avaline doing her job as a lifeguard at the lake when she is attacked with magic by two assailants who know her name. She wakes up a month later to learn she, too, has magic. A dangerous magic. She has two choices and decides to stay at the school to learn how to control her vox magic.

I can't decide whether I liked this or not.

Everything was happening so quickly in it. She meets the guys, she lusts after them, she sleeps with one of them very quickly. She gets to lessons and on her second try ever she manages to make fire. I just expected things to take time...for her to initially struggle considering she didn't even know she had magic until a day or two ago.

I struggled to connect with the characters and wasn't really convinced by their relationships. I didn't feel any real sort of chemistry going on between any of them. Once again, I feel like this bit was rushed. I get lust but... I wasn't a fan of how the author wrote the romance parts.

This story had a lot of promise but we don't really learn much of anything. Ava learns about magic in lessons but we don't get to hear it. To me it feels like a bit of paper that's been scrunched into a ball and then flattened causing creases and ripples that means some details in the story have been glossed over. It could do with expanding a little with more details on certain aspects.

At this point I don't believe I'll be reading more of this series.
  
Beast (Six Stories, #4)
Beast (Six Stories, #4)
Matt Wesolowski | 2019 | Paranormal, Thriller
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I find it hard to determine, who was the protagonist of this story. Scott King is interviewing people, who knew Youtube Vlogger Elizabeth or her killers, and trying to find out why and who locked Elizabeth in the Vampire Tower, where she was found dead. The characters in this novel are absolutely brilliant. They are diverse, complex, incredibly absorbing and mysterious. I really liked the way Scott King was choosing the people he interviewed, it showed different opinions and views, that kept me immensely intrigued.

The narrative was told from multiple sources, I should say. We are able to read what Elizabeth was saying to her followers, while she is doing an online challenge, as well as to read what Scott King uncovers during his interviews. I loved everything about this narrative, the way vampires were incorporated, giving this book a dark and ghostly feeling, the kind of Q&A writing style, and all the twists and discoveries that unravel as we read along. The topics discussed in this book were very dark, troublesome but at the same time very modern and realistic. Such as need of validation, the power of manipulation, abuse and bullying, social exclusion, social degradation and many, many more.

I really loved the setting of this book as well. It is set in Ergarth, a miserable town, that feels forgotten by the world, where unemployment and homelessness thrive, where the trouble is always next to you, and it is haunted by the Vampire Tower. LOVED IT! The whole book is divided into six chapters, and they are quite long, but the story absorbed me so much, that the pages just flew by. (And that comes from a person who despises long chapters
  
Born of Hatred (The Hellequin Chronicles #2)
Born of Hatred (The Hellequin Chronicles #2)
Steve McHugh | 2020 | Horror, Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
201
Kindle
Born of Hatred ( The Hellequin chronicles book 2)
By Steve McHugh

There was a time when Nathan Garrett was feared. When the mention of his name was enough to stop his enemies in their tracks. That time has long since passed.

When Nathan's friend asks for help investigating a pattern of horrific crimes, he reluctantly agrees. But his investigation leads to a serial killer who is something more, or less, than human, a creature of pure malevolence and hatred.

There are some things that even a 1600-year-old sorcerer hesitates to challenge. But when evil targets those Nathan cares about, his enemies will discover exactly who Nathan used to be. And why they will learn to fear him once more.

Born of Hatred is an action-packed, Urban Fantasy set in modern-day England with historical flashbacks to late nineteenth century Montana. It's the second book of the Hellequin Chronicles, following the widely praised Crimes Against Magic, which introduced sorcerer Nathan Garrett.

I did t think I could enjoy the second as much as the first, I was so wrong!
Loved it!! Written by a Brit the character is English it’s set in England and what’s not to love about Nate!! I love the bloke he’s powerful and funny! This one be brings Hades and Persephone In to the picture and I absolutely love all Hades parts in books! The werewolf pack are brilliant, Tommy and Kasey are great I even warmed to Olivia!! Shame about the romance not working out but a mere mortal isn’t enough for our Nate! The big bad was really chilling along with his ghouls and the barren! We are one step closer to finding the assholes in Avalon. Brilliant read! Ooo and yes the Hellequin is back!!!
  
40x40

Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Just One Look in Books

Dec 17, 2020  
Just One Look
Just One Look
Harlan Coben | 2004 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
7
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is the tenth book in my #atozchallenge! I'm challenging myself to read a book from my shelves that starts with each letter of the alphabet. Let's clear those shelves and delve into that backlist!

When Grace Lawson picks up a set of photos from the store, she finds a strange photo in the envelope. It shows a group of four people she doesn't know. But one, she does: her husband, long before she knew him. When she shows him that evening, he leaves their home mysteriously. Soon a crazy series of events kicks off, and while Grace doesn't realize it, there are people who would do anything--even kill--to keep that photo from seeing the light of day.

This was my first Harlan Coben read--I have a bunch of Coben books I've collected sitting on my shelves, so it seemed like a great choice for my challenge. This was the supreme page turner. I had no idea where this book was going most of the time! It's filled with twists and turns, and it kept me guessing! There are a few real "coincidences," but they didn't diminish my enjoyment of the story at all. This was one of those plain 'ol good mysteries. I hadn't realized it was set in the mid-1990s (the development of film should have been a dead giveaway, ha), but it stood the test of time. There are creepy bad guys who fight the good guys. Sometimes you just need a tale of good versus evil with lots of twists to take your mind off of things.

Overall, an enjoyable and puzzling read. 3.5 stars. I'll definitely need to read more of the Coben books on my shelves.
  
The Dark Queen
The Dark Queen
Lizzy Gomez | 2019 | Young Adult (YA)
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Well written keeps you hooked. (0 more)
Brilliant trilogy
Contains spoilers, click to show
This book 3 on a trilogy.



This series was recommended to me by a friend as im doing an A to Z book challenge this year. The first book is called Z.

Quick run through.....

Z and her adoptive brother are on the run from the police wanted for murder, they are forced into the streets after their adoptive parents tragically die in a cat accident.

When cornered in a dark alley her brother is killed and she saved my a mysterious stranger claiming to be her real brother from another dimension. Oh and she's some long lost princess.

Over time she regains her memory and her family, all except dear old dad who happens to be called the dark king. While trying to find a rare ingredient for s potion to save her mother z or rather Nadya gets taken by her dad.



We pick up in book 3! Nadya had her memories manipulated by the general Allen who she thought was dead. When her friends come to save her she has different memories of them and tortures Her best friend for potion ingredients them send them all through a portal to earth. They find there way back in time to save her but lose a lot in the process!



I can honestly say I'm sad to see this end! I have enjoyed reading it and following Nadya and her friends. Victorias was so sad after all the plans she had made.

Loved seeing Nadya become the queen she was meant to be. I love Lizzy's contrast between our earth and theirs bringing some of a fairytale world into ours.

I'm looking forward to seeing what she does next!

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Recommended