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12 Hour Shift (2020)
12 Hour Shift (2020)
2020 | Comedy, Horror, Thriller
6
6.0 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
As the night shift starts at the hospital, a drug-addicted nurse finds herself in hot water. A simple black market organ exchange goes awry and she finds herself having to attempt to acquire new organs to save her cousin from the traffickers' wrath.

Almost immediately I was concerned with the pace of the film, it seemed to drag, which didn't really fit with what I'd envisioned from the synopsis and the trailer. I needn't have worried though as everything picked up quite quickly. The hospital makes for a great centrepiece once the action settles there, the cutting between rooms and characters kept it all moving and leaves the viewer with little time to lose interest in what's happening.

Angela Betis was a fun lead. Overworked and underpaid, Mandy is dealing with her problems the only way she knows how. Her attitude about things is all over the place and she sways wildly between what is right and wrong. Bettis manages to make Mandy relatable, particularly that look that says "people are idiots", I felt her pain. It's a great portrayal and she plays off well against all the other characters.

Mandy's ditzy cousin Regine (who inspires a lot of those aforementioned looks) is such a funny addition, she adds something light-hearted to the proceedings and I'm honestly not sure how she ever got a job trafficking organs. Having her in the film did make me think that there could have been some more humour in the mix, but the balance as it was did suit the film.

The rest of that cast were good but it might have been nice to see more of some of them. David Arquette felt underused considering the promo shots I kept seeing for it had him front and centre, and one of the original blurbs even had him as part of the main plot when that absolutely isn't the case.

12 Hour Shift is an entertaining romp and I love the way it's brought full circle. As it is it's a great thriller with some comedy thrown in. It definitely could have taken a lot more obvious humour on-board but that probably would have turned it into a very different film, and whilst almost certainly entertaining I think I would have missed not seeing this version.

Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/03/12-hour-shift-movie-review.html
  

"We played at the Freddie Mercury tribute at Wembley in 1992. The best part was doing 'All The Young Dudes' with Bowie and Mick Ronson and Brian May. That was the best three minutes – musically – of my career, from an emotional point of view. It was the last time Mick Ronson played on stage and it was celebrating the life of a phenomenal musician that we all miss to this day. Brian May is a career long friend of mine. I remember Phil Collen (guitar) was really nervous. I said to him: 'You're bloody doing it. You'll regret it you're entire life if you don't' I literally had to drag him on stage by the collar. We were looking across and there was Ronson and Bowie and May. And it's my glam anthem, you know? It's my funeral tune and there we were doing it with everyone who ever meant anything to me all on one stage. Bolan would have made it even better I suppose, but he was dead. But this record Ziggy Stardust? The way I see it is this: what other record could have influenced, say, me, Boy George and Morrissey in the same way, you know? We don't have much in common but we all saw that same thing…. we saw Bowie with his arm around Ronson on Top Of The Pops and it was like 'well, that's what I'm going to do for the rest of my life'. Seeing it on colour TV as well: it looked amazing. To see Slade; The Sweet; Bolan - all of them with the purples, greens, oranges, reds and silvers – it was bonkers. Even Gary Glitter covered in bloody Bacofoil. To come from black and white to that! Bowie oozed class. I got the Ziggy album when I was 12-years-old. You're full of shit at that age but you're also a sponge. And I was listening to things like 'Rock n Roll Suicide' and I'd think: 'I wonder if we really are all going to be over and done with by 1977'. It was a great story. [sings] 'Pushing through the market square…' Brilliant vocal delivery which was a) listenable b) commercial and c) totally accessible to anybody, from hardcore Bowie fans to little girls who were probably enamoured of David Cassidy. I was listening in awe. He had it all."

Source
  
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Ross (3284 KP) rated Rogue: Untouched in Books

May 11, 2021  
Rogue: Untouched
Rogue: Untouched
Alisa Kwitney | 2021 | Comics & Graphic Novels, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Great X-person origin story+
Anyone who has seen the first X-men film will be aware of Rogue's backstory to an extent - an unfortunate teenage snog leaving a boy in a coma and resulting in her spending all her time isolated from touching others and spending her allowance on gloves.

In that film, Rogue is played by the wonderful Anna Paquin, who also starred as Sookie Stackhouse in True Blood. It both helped and confused me that in this book Rogue is waiting tables in a smalltown diner, blurring the lines between Rogue and Sookie for me. I kept expecting a vampire to walk through the diner doors. Instead, we are treated to the superb cajun Gambit, my favourite character from the early 90s cartoon series. He helps Rogue (Anna Marie) to discover that she has some mutant powers and how they could be used.

At the same time, Rogue meets two mysterious ladies who are seeking new students for their academy and encourage her to take a chance and give up her waiting career.

Rogue then finds herself embroiled in Gambit's past exploits with a mutant slave trader and has to quickly learn to use her powers (and those of the mutants around her) to escape their capture.

The book flows well, with plenty of character development for Rogue and a satisfying cast of familiar and new (to me at least!) mutants along the way - including one late reveal that I'm sure all readers will see coming a mile off.

While the book never dragged and the pace was great, I did struggle to get through this book as quickly as I had hoped. This is more down to things going on outwith my reading schedule (stupidly listening to 500 albums, marking professional exams and the kids' school holidays). However, while I can't quite put my finger on anything specific, the book didn't quite drag me back in for a sneaky 10 minutes during the day.

I did enjoy this book, as with some of the other Marvel novels issued recently, and would recommend it to anyone looking for something a bit super-hero-y but in a novel.
I received a free advance copy of this book from the publishers and netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
  
Shed No Tears
Shed No Tears
Caz Frear | 2020 | Thriller
7
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The protagonist in this book is Cat Kinsella, and the story is told from her perspective. I really liked Cat in this novel, she is a strong, witty and very interesting character, who has quite a few secrets. The other characters chosen for this book are a different but interesting bunch as well because they all have something to offer to this story. I liked the way Cat was interacting with other people in this book, not only sharing the details from the investigation but her complicated personal life as well. I liked this balance. Due to the wide variety of people in this book, I did have to think sometimes, who is who, because there are many names to remember… 🙂

This book is police procedural, and Cat is sharing the details of her investigation. I really liked the way the victim’s (Holly Kemp) character uncovered during this investigation, every chapter brought something new and kept me longing to find out more. The topics discussed in this book are children in foster care, blackmail, couples and family relations, police work, etc. I found this book absorbing, but the narrative felt a little too slow, I would’ve liked a little more action. 😦 There are quite a few references from the previous books in the series, but as a first-time reader, I was able to understand what was going on. However, I would recommend reading the previous books first. If I read the books from the beginning, I think then I would’ve been able to understand and relate to the characters better.

I really enjoyed the writing style of this novel, the author has a sense of humour, and I really enjoyed her witty and sarcastic remarks during this book. 😀 The setting of this novel keeps changing, so the book doesn’t feel dull. The chapters have medium length, but the book was intriguing, so it did not drag for me. The ending was very unexpected and I really didn’t see it coming. 🙂

So, to conclude, it is a gripping police investigation, filled with a wide variety of different and absorbing characters as well as nicely balanced plot, where we have the chance to learn more about not only the investigative work but also about Cat and the people she loves.
  
Before This is Over
Before This is Over
Amanda Hickie | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The blurb of this book, sounds a little bit like the one for the dystopian book, where everybody dies and you survive, but it was far away from it. This was really dark and emotional journey, where wrong decisions could kill your family.

The main character in this book was Hannah, a wife and mother of two boys. Normally I really enjoy reading books, told from different perspectives, but in this case, the whole story was told from Hannah’s perspective only, and it didn’t leave me disappointed. I really liked the relationship which this family was sharing: the support and understanding between Hannah and her husband were very strong, and I also enjoyed reading about their parenting techniques, there is something new to learn. 🙂 The characters who really annoyed me were the children. I am not a very big fan of kids, and they got on my nerves really bad in this book (children will remain, children, I get it…) I really liked Hannah as a character, she was doing everything she could to survive those horrible weeks in isolation, and I really respected her decisions, even though sometimes they used to be really harsh.

The plot of this book was concentrated around Hannah’s house, sometimes including some news about next door neighbours. This book was quite long, and sometimes the chapters used to drag a little, but one thing I liked, that when you think everything is going to be ok, Hickie throws in a challenge for the family to face. That’s what kept me going and interested in this book. I was curious whats next, how and when this all epidemic is going to finish.

The writing style was very creative and pleasant to read. The chapters were too long for my liking and it really dragged sometimes. I really liked the idea of using a calendar symbol to mark the new chapters, I think it was creative and something new. The ending of this book rounded the whole story quite good. However, it left me wondering, what happened to the other characters, who came along the way. So, to conclude, this is a really emotionally challenging novel about survival and choosing whats best for your family. I do strongly recommend to give it a try, I really enjoyed this adventure.
  
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BookInspector (124 KP) rated Zenka in Books

Sep 24, 2020  
Zenka
Zenka
Alison Brodie | 2020 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
More reviews can be found at https://bbookinspector.wordpress.com

Even though the name of this book is Zenka, she is not the main character in this book. The main character in this novel was Nicholas, a very good-hearted nurse, who works with old people and is a coward. He is scared of any conflict and does everything to please people. Jack is a mob boss with principles, and when he finds out that he has a son, Zenka and him, decide to make Nicholas a “real man”, and that is where all the fun begins. I really liked, that A. Brodie chose to tell this story through Nicholas’s and Trevor’s (Jack’s Lawyer) perspectives, it has a fresh and different approach to the characters and I really enjoyed how the story was told. I really liked, that there was a wide variety of characters and that the mob gang was not very cruel, they had class in what they did. My favourite of all was Nicholas, first of all, I love his name, secondly, I really enjoyed his journey to “manhood” in this novel.

The beginning went a little bit slow for me, but when I was about halfway through, I could not put it down. The turns and twists in this novel left me very surprised and pleasantly baffled. I really enjoyed A. Brodie’s sense of humour, and I was laughing out loud while reading this novel.

The writing style of this book was very creative, I liked that Zenka’s thoughts were written through the letters to her friend Olga, using a different accent. That accent, as well as the slang used, made this book more lively and believable. I am grateful, that author gave a slang explanation page at the beginning, for me it was really helpful. The chapters were a decent length and it did not drag to me. I really really enjoyed the ending, it rounded up the whole story very nicely and at the same time gave a tight slap of surprise. Great way to finish the story! So to conclude, it is a very funny comedy with a dash of romance, crime and Christmas spirit, filled with very statuesque, charming and charismatic characters, which won’t leave u bored. I do strongly recommend to read this book, and like always, don’t forget to Enjoy!