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Alice (12 KP) rated Of Sand and Malice Made (The Song of the Shattered Sands, #0.5) in Books

Jul 3, 2018  
OS
Of Sand and Malice Made (The Song of the Shattered Sands, #0.5)
Bradley P. Beaulieu | 2016
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Definitely wasn’t what I expected. After reading the blurb I was excited to read about the youngest pit fighter in Sharakhai only there wasn’t so much pit fighting as running all over the desert trying to escape from a demonic being who becomes fixated on Ceda.

Ceda is 15 when the story begins and it starts off with her picking a fight with someone who – in the beginning – gives off a secondary character kinda vibe, almost filler but ends up being an integral part of the story later on. Brama had apparently stolen a purse that Ceda wad tasked to collect and Ceda decided she’d rather fight him than find the purse. That came across as quite juvenile particularly when her “boss” pointed out the same thing that I thought.

The story progresses pretty slowly for the first 60 or 70 pages where it does eventually improve but there’s a distinctly Middle Eastern vibe to this story. It’s sort of like a twisted sci-fi type of Aladdin story.

The pit fighting is few and far between and for a character who is called the White Wolf I would have preferred a little more fighting and a little less talking but the steroidal like properties to the flower petals is amazingly unique, I don’t think I’ve ever read that in a book so kudos to that.

The writing style was a touch different to what I’m used to but it was written quite well. As mentioned above there was a distinctly Middle Eastern vibe to this story and the descriptions of the desert and other areas in Sharakhai were beautifully written and it almost made me feel like I was back on holiday in Egypt which was a lovely experience.

The concept of Rumayesh was really good – a semi corrupt demonic type being who overtakes the body of her “chosen” one – and Rumayesh took an awful big shine to Ceda which is where the story basically followed. Now having not read Twelve Kings I am completely unable to comment on how the story progresses in that book but the plot line in this novella was drawing to the mind and the descriptions of what was happening were very good.

Apart from my initial dubious feeling and the subsequent lack of pit – fighting for a story based on a pit-fighter I did enjoy Of Sand and Malice Made but I don’t think that it is entirely my thing and I don’t think I’d be continuing the story anytime soon though I do look forward to seeing where this novella leads.
  
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Mark Halpern (153 KP) rated Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2018) in Movies

Feb 9, 2018  
Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2018)
Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2018)
2018 | Crime, Drama
9
6.9 (10 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
fighting for others but fighting for yourself
Roman (Washington) is a defense attorney who is basically kept behind the scenes more as an advisory position partner who he has worked with for 20 plus years dies of an heart attack and the practice is being dissolved. George (Farrllel) is a head partner at the firm that has acquired Roman'f firms cases and is offered an position because of his knowledge of the law and his caring for his clients. He has abides by the law his whole life but a life changing event happens and he sees an opportunity to do something for him even if it is against his morals and the law. How does he live with himself afterwards and what becomes him only the story can tell you.

Lots of lawyer movies you see these days involve the lawyer to get involved in some type of action sequence. This movie brings us to a great story, a good plot and a great cast. The only problem with it is that it is a little slow and at times and makes you kind of not interested but, then it picks back up again. This is a must for any Denzel Washington fan. Colin Farrell is very good as well
  
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Veronica Pena (690 KP) rated Fifty Shades Darker in Books

Jan 12, 2020  
Fifty Shades Darker
Fifty Shades Darker
E.L. James | 2012 | Fiction & Poetry
6
7.2 (44 Ratings)
Book Rating
I found myself having a really hard time getting through this novel! Having seen the movies and knowing what happens in this section of the trilogy, I still was fighting myself to finish. I read this and it's counterpart "Darker" at the same time to give myself a more comprehensive view of the story and that definitely helped - being able to know what Ana was doing when she was away from Christian and vice versa, but also being in both of their heads when they were together, having sex, fighting, whatever the situation may be. I still found "Darker" to be more compelling. I think Ana's strongest moment as a character, thus far in the series, is in this novel during her run-in with Hyde. I also greatly appreciated his character development from the beginning of the novel to the end. The excerpt given at the end of this novel is what makes reading "Fifty Shades Freed" so intriguing.

I said it in my review of "Darker" but I'm still angry that there isn't a third Christian point of view to match "Freed" but I'm still eager to round out this series and move on. I can't say I'll ever read them again, but I don't regret starting them, that's for sure.
  
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Gaspar Noe recommended Jason and the Argonauts (1963) in Movies (curated)

 
Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
1963 | Fantasy
7.7 (27 Ratings)
Movie Favorite Watch

"Jason and the Argonauts is the very first movie that I ever remember watching. My parents were living in New York and I was a very young kid. And I remember being in front of my TV all alone watching skeletons fighting with swords. For me it was magic. I guess the emotion was so strong that the memory of the room and the TV still piques my mind because maybe at that age you don’t really know what a skeleton is. But watching skeletons fighting was like, “Wooh-wooh, what the f— is this?” And I have a memory of that movie that sticks in my mind of the giant — there’s a boat that goes through the legs of a big giant. I have a lot of respect for those movies, like the old King Kong, which create a grand world with the tricks. I’ve always been respectful to all the people who do visual effects and special effects, because making movies is also making magic. You can also admire a man who pretends to cut a woman to pieces in a theater because he makes these images of horror that, again, don’t hurt. That was my very first memory of this film. And I was always going to see movies since then."

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