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Team Yankee: A Novel of World War III
9.0
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Book
This revised and updated edition of the classic Cold War novel Team Yankee reminds us once again...
A World on Fire: An Epic History of Two Nations Divided
Book
'No two nations have ever existed on the face of the earth which could do each other so much good or...
Chris Hooker (419 KP) rated The Polaris Uprising (Polaris, #1) in Books
Jan 12, 2018
[The Polaris Uprising] has a similar plot line of many teen dystopian novels. It seems that the author [Jennifer Ibarra] borrowed the best parts of many and created her own. This is not a bad thing. In fact it helps to get YA readers to try new books.
The plot is set after a war in which the current leadership came to power and had promised to keep the people from want. Although the leader is called a president he is not democratically elected, in fact it represents a monarchy as he is prepping his youngest daughter to take his place when she come of age. His oldest daughter is a doctor who has just come of age and will marry her 'match'.
In this novel the idea that the state takes care of everything including your decisions is a driving force. It has let to the uprising as people want some freedom back. The sisters get entangled in this conflict. The question is what side will they take?
The plot is set after a war in which the current leadership came to power and had promised to keep the people from want. Although the leader is called a president he is not democratically elected, in fact it represents a monarchy as he is prepping his youngest daughter to take his place when she come of age. His oldest daughter is a doctor who has just come of age and will marry her 'match'.
In this novel the idea that the state takes care of everything including your decisions is a driving force. It has let to the uprising as people want some freedom back. The sisters get entangled in this conflict. The question is what side will they take?
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Monsters (2010) in Movies
May 4, 2018
Whack
When a probe crash lands in Central America, large creatures form and begin to take over. Journalist Andrew Kaulder (Scoot McNairy) is hired by his boss to find his daughter, who is stranded in Central America, and bring her home.
Acting: 8
Very strong performances from the two stars of the film. The acting was far from the problem here. It was everything else. Whitney Able plays Sam Wynden, the woman Andrew was hired to rescue. Her display of emotions are well-ranged and believable. You can feel her dismay, her fear as she moves from one scene to the next. Truly a talent that I enjoyed watching work in her craft.
Beginning: 10
Characters: 1
Cinematography/Visuals: 3
Conflict: 3
Genre: 0
Memorability: 2
Pace: 1
Plot: 7
Resolution: 5
Overall: 40
Nothing eventful really happens for the majority of the film. Like nothing. Not even exaggerating. I could rip this film apart, but you see the numbers. I don't need to waste my time. Don't waste yours either. Stay away from Monsters. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Acting: 8
Very strong performances from the two stars of the film. The acting was far from the problem here. It was everything else. Whitney Able plays Sam Wynden, the woman Andrew was hired to rescue. Her display of emotions are well-ranged and believable. You can feel her dismay, her fear as she moves from one scene to the next. Truly a talent that I enjoyed watching work in her craft.
Beginning: 10
Characters: 1
Cinematography/Visuals: 3
Conflict: 3
Genre: 0
Memorability: 2
Pace: 1
Plot: 7
Resolution: 5
Overall: 40
Nothing eventful really happens for the majority of the film. Like nothing. Not even exaggerating. I could rip this film apart, but you see the numbers. I don't need to waste my time. Don't waste yours either. Stay away from Monsters. Don't say I didn't warn you.
RəX Regent (349 KP) rated Meet the Fockers (2004) in Movies
Mar 7, 2019
Better than the first...
Contains spoilers, click to show
Well, simply put, this was slightly better than the first. Following the exploits of the previous film, "Meet The Parents", Gaylord Focker, Ben Stiller, introduces his fiancée's parents, excellently portrayed by Robert De Niro and Blythe Danner to his family, with the obvious humorous consequences.
Dustin Hoffman is on form and Barbra Streisand, who I honestly cannot recall seeing in anything but this franchise in the last twenty years, is not bad either as the laid-back titular Fockers. Stiller's and his lies are sidelined here, as the focus is on the conflict between the parents themselves, but all is resolved by the end, obviously and even though Owen Wilson's cameo is pretty contrived and we could have done without it, it had its moments.
"Meet The Fockers" is marginally better than "Meet The Parents", I think because the characters boundaries were more clearly defined, the jokes were funnier and tended to be less reliant on the awkwardness. This lighter offering was more than worth the watch and made me laugh which all you can ask from a comedy.
Dustin Hoffman is on form and Barbra Streisand, who I honestly cannot recall seeing in anything but this franchise in the last twenty years, is not bad either as the laid-back titular Fockers. Stiller's and his lies are sidelined here, as the focus is on the conflict between the parents themselves, but all is resolved by the end, obviously and even though Owen Wilson's cameo is pretty contrived and we could have done without it, it had its moments.
"Meet The Fockers" is marginally better than "Meet The Parents", I think because the characters boundaries were more clearly defined, the jokes were funnier and tended to be less reliant on the awkwardness. This lighter offering was more than worth the watch and made me laugh which all you can ask from a comedy.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2206 KP) rated Die Like an Eagle (Meg Langslow, #20) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Meg’s twins have joined the local youth baseball league, and Meg is quickly learning what a tyrant Biff Brown, the head of the league, can be. While most of the parents hate him, he hasn’t damped the enthusiasm any, and most of the town turns out for opening day. However, there is a major delay when Meg finds a dead body in the field’s only porta potty.
The politics of local baseball seemed to be more of the focus than the mystery this time, although Meg still spends plenty of time investigating. I’m not complaining, however, since there were so many great scenes and so much conflict I couldn’t put the book down. We get some nice twists before the logical conclusion as well. It’s always wonderful to spend time with these characters, and one I’d been wanting to see showed up again here, which I loved. This may be book 20, but the series is still going strong.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/08/book-review-die-like-eagle-by-donna.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
The politics of local baseball seemed to be more of the focus than the mystery this time, although Meg still spends plenty of time investigating. I’m not complaining, however, since there were so many great scenes and so much conflict I couldn’t put the book down. We get some nice twists before the logical conclusion as well. It’s always wonderful to spend time with these characters, and one I’d been wanting to see showed up again here, which I loved. This may be book 20, but the series is still going strong.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/08/book-review-die-like-eagle-by-donna.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
ClareR (5726 KP) rated Herland, the Yellow Wall-Paper, and Selected Writings in Books
Jun 6, 2018
This review is for Herland only!
This is lauded as being amongst the first feminist literature, and I'm sure it is - both now and at the time it was first published.
An all-female society is discovered in the middle of nowhere (I envisioned deepest, darkest South America, in the jungle somewhere) by three male explorers. They arrive with their male preconceptions, and two of them change their way of thinking for the better.
It's an idyllic life in Herland (the men's name for the country, not the women's - they never mention a name). There is someone in charge, but she's elected. No (or little) conflict, no crime, everyone does their share. Motherhood is sacred and limited to one child. They conceive magically, it seems, as there are no men, and all women share the parenting. It's idyllic all right!
A short little novella, and an easy, quick read. It's interesting to see what a woman in the early part of the twentieth century thought would be an idyllic society - and rather telling that men didn't actually feature in it at all!
An all-female society is discovered in the middle of nowhere (I envisioned deepest, darkest South America, in the jungle somewhere) by three male explorers. They arrive with their male preconceptions, and two of them change their way of thinking for the better.
It's an idyllic life in Herland (the men's name for the country, not the women's - they never mention a name). There is someone in charge, but she's elected. No (or little) conflict, no crime, everyone does their share. Motherhood is sacred and limited to one child. They conceive magically, it seems, as there are no men, and all women share the parenting. It's idyllic all right!
A short little novella, and an easy, quick read. It's interesting to see what a woman in the early part of the twentieth century thought would be an idyllic society - and rather telling that men didn't actually feature in it at all!
Us Marine vs Nva Soldier - Vietnam 1967-68
Johnny Shumate and David R. Higgins
Book
In 1967-68, the United States Marine Corps (USMC) was on the front line of the defence of South...
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Book
Kim Barker is not your typical foreign correspondent. Raised in Montana, at thirty she had barely...
Resistance Heroism and the End of Empire: The Life and Times of Madeleine Riffaud
Book
This book introduces an English-speaking public to the life of Madeleine Riffaud - one of the last...