Search
Search results
How to Murder Your Life
5.0
Rate It
Book
"I was twenty-six years old and an associate beauty editor at Lucky, one of the top fashion...
Rural Fictions, Urban Realities: A Geography of Gilded Age American Literature
Book
The diminishment of rural life at the hands of urbanization, for many, defines the years between the...
Five Little Monkeys
Games and Education
App
-> Highly recommended for Education by the App Store, as well as teachers and parents around the...
Baby Twins Babysitter
Games and Entertainment
App
~~> Take care of the cutest, wildest baby twins ever! They’re a handful of trouble & fun! ~~> ...
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?
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Resident (2012) in Movies
Apr 26, 2019
Icky, undistinguished psycho-thriller finds Hammer in House of Mystery and Suspense mode. Except there's not much of either, given that no-one ever moves into a lovely new apartment and finds it's just as good as it seemed on the viewing. The usual fem jeop ensues as Hilary Swank's doctor has to fend off not just her landlord (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) but his elderly dad (his eminence Christopher Lee, in a regrettably small part).
Really has very little to differentiate or commend it beyond Lee's creepy cameo and some fun and games with the chronology at one point; you find yourself wondering just why you're watching a film with such an unpleasant vibe to it - it's kind of playing the game where it seems to be perfectly okay to dwell at great length on the most repellent behaviour, as long as there's a bit of carthartic vengeance in the end. I am seldom convinced by this, especially not when the rest of the film put together in such an average manner.
Really has very little to differentiate or commend it beyond Lee's creepy cameo and some fun and games with the chronology at one point; you find yourself wondering just why you're watching a film with such an unpleasant vibe to it - it's kind of playing the game where it seems to be perfectly okay to dwell at great length on the most repellent behaviour, as long as there's a bit of carthartic vengeance in the end. I am seldom convinced by this, especially not when the rest of the film put together in such an average manner.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated The Mountain Between Us (2017) in Movies
Aug 12, 2018
Would've been better without the romance
I like both Idris Elba and Kate Winslet, however I feel like this film could've been much better without a pointless romance between them.
This should've been a survival film only, and it would've been much more endearing. The love story was a little ridiculous and unnecessary, and the ending too was just predictable and cheesy. As purely a survival film though, this could have actually been quite good. There are parts of this where they appear to survive fairly harsh conditions and situations without any real consequences, which seems a little farfetched - they spend 3 weeks in the mountains but barely seem knackered at all. There also seem to be a few nuances and plot holes. I also get very annoyed with survival films when one of the characters is always a doctor! It's awfully convenient.
To be fair this was an alright film to watch until it started on the romance. I'm just glad nothing bad happened to the dog.
This should've been a survival film only, and it would've been much more endearing. The love story was a little ridiculous and unnecessary, and the ending too was just predictable and cheesy. As purely a survival film though, this could have actually been quite good. There are parts of this where they appear to survive fairly harsh conditions and situations without any real consequences, which seems a little farfetched - they spend 3 weeks in the mountains but barely seem knackered at all. There also seem to be a few nuances and plot holes. I also get very annoyed with survival films when one of the characters is always a doctor! It's awfully convenient.
To be fair this was an alright film to watch until it started on the romance. I'm just glad nothing bad happened to the dog.
Shane Crick (5 KP) rated Tonight's Encore (For the Love of Pup, #1) in Books
Dec 10, 2018
The story captures you and keeps you entangled until the very end. As the plot unfolds between Rock Star Zac, with Doctor Reed and his sidekick Magnum, your drawn Into their worlds, making It hard to put this book down as you want to devour more. Seeing how the characters deal with the drama amongst Zac's Ex-Boyfriend Troy, along with the paparazzi, the hot headed publicist, and many others engulfs you, wanting to see how they will tackle the dilemmas and get on with their lives. Granted, the hot, Intense, love making scenes adds some nice bonus flair, but It doesn't draw away from the story. It adds the fuel to keep the story burning, making you want even more. I was really pleased with the outcome of this book and looking forward to the next Installment. This Is my first read from this author and without a doubt, won't be my last. Highly recommend giving this a read!
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from HRG.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from HRG.
David McK (3623 KP) rated Star Wars: Screaming Citadel in Books
Jun 30, 2019
This is a essentially a cross-over graphic novel, collecting issues 7-8 of Doctor Aphra, issues 31-32 of the 'main' Star Wars stories, and issue #1 (of 1) of The Screaming Citadel.
As such, the artwork doesn't always mesh, with the story feeling (to me) rather disjointed: here we have Luke teaming up with Dr Aphra (first introduced in the earlier run of these comics) to investigate the Screaming Citadel, where the queen of said Citadel only opens up her doors once a year to receive supplicants from all over the galaxy.
Why the team up? Because Dr Aphra has a Jedi Holocron, and Luke - at this point (pre Empire Strikes Back, remember!) is in lack of a teacher. And what does Dr Aphra get out of it? Knowledge.
What this then devolves into - for my money - is a pretty standard double and triple-cross tale, with Luke eventually learning that there are no short cuts to learning the ways of the Force, and with a set-up for a yet-to-be-followed-up-on sequel to the story.
As such, the artwork doesn't always mesh, with the story feeling (to me) rather disjointed: here we have Luke teaming up with Dr Aphra (first introduced in the earlier run of these comics) to investigate the Screaming Citadel, where the queen of said Citadel only opens up her doors once a year to receive supplicants from all over the galaxy.
Why the team up? Because Dr Aphra has a Jedi Holocron, and Luke - at this point (pre Empire Strikes Back, remember!) is in lack of a teacher. And what does Dr Aphra get out of it? Knowledge.
What this then devolves into - for my money - is a pretty standard double and triple-cross tale, with Luke eventually learning that there are no short cuts to learning the ways of the Force, and with a set-up for a yet-to-be-followed-up-on sequel to the story.
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Just in Books
Nov 18, 2019
This is a very difficult book to review, only because it covers a lot of ground. The story revolves around Scott Langbrook, a doctor who has volunteered with a charity to help refugees in North Africa. There he falls in love with his team leader but soon discovers that the world she inhabits is very different from his own.
The book delves deep into both their pasts as well as following their stories in the present day. As they get more desperate both their worlds start to unravel and there seems to be no way out.
Covering subjects involving terrorism and people trafficking this is a fairly grim read, and fairly slow at times too. The characters are written well and the plot does take the reader to unexpected places - both good and bad.
However for me the whole didn't quite equal the sum of its parts. Some of the storytelling seemed a little disjointed with jumping between different times without any clear idea of the sequence or timing of events. But that doesn't detract from an intriguing read
The book delves deep into both their pasts as well as following their stories in the present day. As they get more desperate both their worlds start to unravel and there seems to be no way out.
Covering subjects involving terrorism and people trafficking this is a fairly grim read, and fairly slow at times too. The characters are written well and the plot does take the reader to unexpected places - both good and bad.
However for me the whole didn't quite equal the sum of its parts. Some of the storytelling seemed a little disjointed with jumping between different times without any clear idea of the sequence or timing of events. But that doesn't detract from an intriguing read