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Cynthia Armistead (17 KP) rated Spell Bound (Women of the Otherworld #12) in Books
Mar 1, 2018
[b:Waking the Witch|6725785|Waking the Witch (Women of the Otherworld, #11)|Kelley Armstrong|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1265310260s/6725785.jpg|6921947] and [b:Spell Bound|7797032|Spell Bound (Women of the Otherworld, #12)|Kelley Armstrong|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1292864599s/7797032.jpg|10767072] should truly be read back to back. In fact, they should be read with [b:13|10863148|13 (Women of the Otherworld, #13)|Kelley Armstrong|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328820694s/10863148.jpg|15778276] on hand, almost as a trilogy within the series.
At the end of <i>Waking the Witch</i>, Savannah silently thought that if it would reunite an orphan with her grandmother, Savannah would gladly give up her powers. Something heard her and took her up on that unintended deal, and she finds herself powerless for the first time in her life.
Savannah has always been so very powerful that she has counted on her spells more than most witches or sorcerors do, so she finds living without them to be very difficult — especially since a witch hunter and others are after her. There's a Supernatural Liberation Movement that wants to use her as one of its figureheads, with or without her cooperation, in their quest to bring supernaturals out of the closet and into the spotlight. She has to do some serious soul-searching and growth in the process of avoiding enemies and getting creative about staying alive.
The plot moves extremely quickly, so much so that I couldn't keep track of what day it was in the book. In fact, it moves right into the plot of [b:13|10863148|13 (Women of the Otherworld, #13)|Kelley Armstrong|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328820694s/10863148.jpg|15778276]. I'm having fits because I don't have it on hand, and I just can't wait for the library to get around to me on the hold list — I might have to break down and buy it instead.
At the end of <i>Waking the Witch</i>, Savannah silently thought that if it would reunite an orphan with her grandmother, Savannah would gladly give up her powers. Something heard her and took her up on that unintended deal, and she finds herself powerless for the first time in her life.
Savannah has always been so very powerful that she has counted on her spells more than most witches or sorcerors do, so she finds living without them to be very difficult — especially since a witch hunter and others are after her. There's a Supernatural Liberation Movement that wants to use her as one of its figureheads, with or without her cooperation, in their quest to bring supernaturals out of the closet and into the spotlight. She has to do some serious soul-searching and growth in the process of avoiding enemies and getting creative about staying alive.
The plot moves extremely quickly, so much so that I couldn't keep track of what day it was in the book. In fact, it moves right into the plot of [b:13|10863148|13 (Women of the Otherworld, #13)|Kelley Armstrong|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328820694s/10863148.jpg|15778276]. I'm having fits because I don't have it on hand, and I just can't wait for the library to get around to me on the hold list — I might have to break down and buy it instead.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Are you ready kids?”
“Aye, Aye, Captain…………”
As if, one motion picture wasn’t enough. Nickelodeon decides to release a sequel to the well received 2004 movie, “Spongebob Squarepants.”
The game is afoot with pirate Burger Beard (Antonio Banderas), who finds a treasure map that leads him to a legendary book. This book tells the story of the day in the life of the residence of Bikini Bottom. Spongebob is hard a work flipping burgers at the Krusty Krab. Plankton as usual is trying steal the secret recipe to everyone’s favorite snack, the Krabby patty. In the midst of the battle to save the recipe from Plankton’s evil hands, the recipe vanishes in midair. When the town realizes this may be the end of the Krabby patty forever, everyone begins panic, panic turns into destruction, and destruction leads to a satirical play on every post-apocalyptic film imaginable. Always the skeptic, Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown) turns the town and Spongebob’s closest friends against him. Forcing Spongebob to team up with Plankton, who has his own ulterior motives, to search for the recipe.
Plankton decides the best way to try to find the recipe is to invent a time machine so they can travel back to just before the recipe disappeared. Thus begins the adventure of travelling through time and ultimately ending with the entire gang, dressed up as superheroes, venturing on land to locate Burger Beard and get the recipe back.
Director Paul Tibbitt does an excellent job at taking all the visual humor that we’ve come to love from the TV show, and presents it with wonderful animation and stellar computer generated sequences for the dry land scenes.
Ninety minutes of Spongebob and friends’ zany antics, absurdities, and that obnoxious laugh is more than any parent can handle. That aside, you don’t have to be a fan of the show to enjoy those goofy laugh out loud moments. Definitely a movie geared towards kids!
“Aye, Aye, Captain…………”
As if, one motion picture wasn’t enough. Nickelodeon decides to release a sequel to the well received 2004 movie, “Spongebob Squarepants.”
The game is afoot with pirate Burger Beard (Antonio Banderas), who finds a treasure map that leads him to a legendary book. This book tells the story of the day in the life of the residence of Bikini Bottom. Spongebob is hard a work flipping burgers at the Krusty Krab. Plankton as usual is trying steal the secret recipe to everyone’s favorite snack, the Krabby patty. In the midst of the battle to save the recipe from Plankton’s evil hands, the recipe vanishes in midair. When the town realizes this may be the end of the Krabby patty forever, everyone begins panic, panic turns into destruction, and destruction leads to a satirical play on every post-apocalyptic film imaginable. Always the skeptic, Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown) turns the town and Spongebob’s closest friends against him. Forcing Spongebob to team up with Plankton, who has his own ulterior motives, to search for the recipe.
Plankton decides the best way to try to find the recipe is to invent a time machine so they can travel back to just before the recipe disappeared. Thus begins the adventure of travelling through time and ultimately ending with the entire gang, dressed up as superheroes, venturing on land to locate Burger Beard and get the recipe back.
Director Paul Tibbitt does an excellent job at taking all the visual humor that we’ve come to love from the TV show, and presents it with wonderful animation and stellar computer generated sequences for the dry land scenes.
Ninety minutes of Spongebob and friends’ zany antics, absurdities, and that obnoxious laugh is more than any parent can handle. That aside, you don’t have to be a fan of the show to enjoy those goofy laugh out loud moments. Definitely a movie geared towards kids!
Brown Sugar Kitchen: Recipes and Stories from Everyone's Favorite Soul Food Restaurant
Tanya Holland, Jan Newberry and Jody Horton
Book
Brown Sugar Kitchen is more than a restaurant. This soul-food outpost is a community gathering spot,...
Modernity Britain: 1957-1962
Book
David Kynaston's history of post-war Britain has so far taken us from the radically reforming Labour...
OA
Obsolescence: An Architectural History
Book
In our architectural pursuits, we often seem to be in search of something newer, grander, or more...
Rob Halford recommended Cowboys from Hell by Pantera in Music (curated)
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated A Shadow of Light (A Shade of Vampire, #4) in Books
Jul 1, 2022
114 of 230
Kindle
A Shadow of Light ( A Shade of Vampire book 4)
By Bella Forrest
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Since the implosion at The Oasis and Derek's stay at Hawk Headquarters, The Shade has fallen into a state of utter chaos. To make matters worse, the citizens of Derek's kingdom have become suspicious of his loyalties and accuse him of siding with the enemy... At a time when Derek desperately needs full cooperation from his subjects, they wish to put their own King on trial.
Meanwhile, Sofia is being held hostage by the hunters. They are determined to rid her of her infatuation with the vampire. She submits to the strict routine and training they impose on her, but the only fuel that keeps her going is the thought of reuniting with Derek - something Reuben is fighting with every fiber of his being to ensure will never happen.
...Until one day, out of the blue, Reuben appears to have a change of heart and comes to Sofia with a proposal; a solution that she never dreamed possible. A solution that would fulfil her heart's deepest desires and secure her and Derek's future together, forever.
But can she really trust this man who is so renowned for his hatred of vampires? Does she even have a choice?
I really enjoyed this instalment of A Shade of Vampire series. We hear from a few of the characters and their point of views with Sofia being held captive by her father and Derek trying to find his way back to the shade it’s all going on. Sofia learns more about her so called parents while trying to convince her father to let her go back to Derek. Derek finds himself having to fight for his title against his own father. This books is all about positive parenting 😂😂. Overall a good read and a decent series.
Kindle
A Shadow of Light ( A Shade of Vampire book 4)
By Bella Forrest
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Since the implosion at The Oasis and Derek's stay at Hawk Headquarters, The Shade has fallen into a state of utter chaos. To make matters worse, the citizens of Derek's kingdom have become suspicious of his loyalties and accuse him of siding with the enemy... At a time when Derek desperately needs full cooperation from his subjects, they wish to put their own King on trial.
Meanwhile, Sofia is being held hostage by the hunters. They are determined to rid her of her infatuation with the vampire. She submits to the strict routine and training they impose on her, but the only fuel that keeps her going is the thought of reuniting with Derek - something Reuben is fighting with every fiber of his being to ensure will never happen.
...Until one day, out of the blue, Reuben appears to have a change of heart and comes to Sofia with a proposal; a solution that she never dreamed possible. A solution that would fulfil her heart's deepest desires and secure her and Derek's future together, forever.
But can she really trust this man who is so renowned for his hatred of vampires? Does she even have a choice?
I really enjoyed this instalment of A Shade of Vampire series. We hear from a few of the characters and their point of views with Sofia being held captive by her father and Derek trying to find his way back to the shade it’s all going on. Sofia learns more about her so called parents while trying to convince her father to let her go back to Derek. Derek finds himself having to fight for his title against his own father. This books is all about positive parenting 😂😂. Overall a good read and a decent series.
MIX - Photo Editor & Filters
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MIX a powerful yet easy-to-use image editor that can enhance your photos in seconds. == FEATURE...
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Alien (1979) in Movies
Feb 22, 2020
This classic holds up very, very well more than 40 years later
I convinced my cynical 19 year old to watch an "ancient" film (her phrase) - so I was careful with my choice. I know she likes horror, so thought I would try to see if she could be scared the old fashioned way and pulled the 1979 Sci-Fi/Horror classic ALIEN off the shelves to show her.
It scared the crap outta her.
Directed by Ridley Scott (more on him later) Alien tells the tale of a working-class deep space vehicle, returning home with a full cargo when they intercept a distress call at a distant, non-descript planet, they go to investigate and...
As told by Ridley Scott, based on a script and story by Dan O'Bannon, Alien is a masterwork in suspense and mood. Scott takes his time telling this story, setting up the feel and atmosphere, showing a gritty, working-man's vessel (and not a sleek silver and chrome shiny ship) where the people inside the craft are not heroes, but working class stiff's just trying to make a buck.
What surprised me this time around seeing this film is how deliberate (some would say slow) that the pacing of this film is - but, darn it all, if it doesn't work. The tension slowly builds so when violence/action happens it explodes and seems all the bigger due to the fact that it is coming out of silence.
The cast - a group of relative unknowns at the time - is stellar. In the DVD commentary, Director Scott said he spent quite a bit of time casting this film to ensure he had the right mix - and his work shows on screen. The 7 actors in this film work well together - and each one of them brings a real character to the screen that is interesting to watch.
Tom Skerrit (the film version of M*A*S*H) as laconic, laid back Captain Dallas and Yaphet Kotto (the villain in the James Bond flick LIVE AND LET DIE) as gruff, looking-for-a-buck mechanic Parker were the most well known of the 7 at the time of the release of the film - and they do bring some star power to the proceedings, but are met, evenly, by others like former child star Veronica Cartwright (Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS), veteran character Actor Harry Dean Stanton ( THE ROSE) and John Hurt (THE ELEPHANT MAN). All 3 bring interesting characters - and faces - to the proceedings.
But...for me 2 the standouts in this cast is IAN HOLM (TIME BANDITS) as Science Officer Ash - a character with some "quirks" (to put it mildly) and, of course Sigourney Weaver (GHOSTBUSTERS) in her star making role as 3rd officer Ripley. I don't want to spoil anything in this film, but Weaver's Ripley is the type of strong female character - fighting the typical, chauvinistic male hierarchy - that was heretofore unknown/rarely seen in film and is the prototype of these types of characters to this day. Weaver's performance and the writing and direction of this character is that strong/groundbreaking that it continues to influence writing and filmmaking all these years later.
The 8th character in this film is the look and feel of the ship - the Nostromo - and the look and feel of the titular Alien character as brought to life in an Oscar winning effort in Visual Effects for the team of H.R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Brian Johnson, Nick Allder and Dennis Ayling (based on drawings by Giger). This is truly remarkable, bravura and groundbreaking design and filmmaking - one that holds up very well more than 40 years later - made all the more astounding when you realize that these are all practical effects (CGI had not be invented yet) and the filmmakers had to rely on puppetry, editing, performance and what you don't see (but your mind thinks you do) to fill in the gaps.
It all works tremendously well - if you haven't seen this in awhile, do yourself a favor and watch it again. If you have never seen it, well...you are in for a treat.
Letter Grade: A+
10 Stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
It scared the crap outta her.
Directed by Ridley Scott (more on him later) Alien tells the tale of a working-class deep space vehicle, returning home with a full cargo when they intercept a distress call at a distant, non-descript planet, they go to investigate and...
As told by Ridley Scott, based on a script and story by Dan O'Bannon, Alien is a masterwork in suspense and mood. Scott takes his time telling this story, setting up the feel and atmosphere, showing a gritty, working-man's vessel (and not a sleek silver and chrome shiny ship) where the people inside the craft are not heroes, but working class stiff's just trying to make a buck.
What surprised me this time around seeing this film is how deliberate (some would say slow) that the pacing of this film is - but, darn it all, if it doesn't work. The tension slowly builds so when violence/action happens it explodes and seems all the bigger due to the fact that it is coming out of silence.
The cast - a group of relative unknowns at the time - is stellar. In the DVD commentary, Director Scott said he spent quite a bit of time casting this film to ensure he had the right mix - and his work shows on screen. The 7 actors in this film work well together - and each one of them brings a real character to the screen that is interesting to watch.
Tom Skerrit (the film version of M*A*S*H) as laconic, laid back Captain Dallas and Yaphet Kotto (the villain in the James Bond flick LIVE AND LET DIE) as gruff, looking-for-a-buck mechanic Parker were the most well known of the 7 at the time of the release of the film - and they do bring some star power to the proceedings, but are met, evenly, by others like former child star Veronica Cartwright (Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS), veteran character Actor Harry Dean Stanton ( THE ROSE) and John Hurt (THE ELEPHANT MAN). All 3 bring interesting characters - and faces - to the proceedings.
But...for me 2 the standouts in this cast is IAN HOLM (TIME BANDITS) as Science Officer Ash - a character with some "quirks" (to put it mildly) and, of course Sigourney Weaver (GHOSTBUSTERS) in her star making role as 3rd officer Ripley. I don't want to spoil anything in this film, but Weaver's Ripley is the type of strong female character - fighting the typical, chauvinistic male hierarchy - that was heretofore unknown/rarely seen in film and is the prototype of these types of characters to this day. Weaver's performance and the writing and direction of this character is that strong/groundbreaking that it continues to influence writing and filmmaking all these years later.
The 8th character in this film is the look and feel of the ship - the Nostromo - and the look and feel of the titular Alien character as brought to life in an Oscar winning effort in Visual Effects for the team of H.R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Brian Johnson, Nick Allder and Dennis Ayling (based on drawings by Giger). This is truly remarkable, bravura and groundbreaking design and filmmaking - one that holds up very well more than 40 years later - made all the more astounding when you realize that these are all practical effects (CGI had not be invented yet) and the filmmakers had to rely on puppetry, editing, performance and what you don't see (but your mind thinks you do) to fill in the gaps.
It all works tremendously well - if you haven't seen this in awhile, do yourself a favor and watch it again. If you have never seen it, well...you are in for a treat.
Letter Grade: A+
10 Stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated American Sniper (2015) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Every once in a while a movie just sneaks up on me. A movie that comes out of nowhere to be one of the best that I have seen in a long while. This is how American Sniper hit me. I had seen previews, and thought that it might end up being a decent flick, but I did not expect it to grab a hold of me and teach me something about myself as well.
American Sniper sees Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle in his second movie with “American” in the title (see 2013’s American Hustle). Most of us know the story of Chris Kyle, but for those that don’t here’s a quick rundown. Chris Kyle is the most lethal sniper in American history with 160 confirmed kills as a Navy SEAL, and another 95 probable kills. He served four tours, and wrote a book about his life. This film is based on that book. It tells the story of how he was influenced by his father, joined the military, and then went on to serve four tours while trying to balance his life at home with his wife and children. Acting as the true Sheepdog to all in his life, American Sniper looks at the struggle Kyle went through, and tells the story with passion and respect.
Cooper did a fantastic job portraying Texas-native Kyle. He was almost unrecognizable onscreen, as he put in 8 months of prep to get ready for this role, including a 4-hour a day training regime, and another two with a vocal coach. It was even said that some of Kyle’s brothers-in-arms who helped train Cooper and serve as consultants on the movie could feel his presence through Cooper at the end of training and all throughout filming. Sienna Miller was a great compliment to Cooper’s performance as Taya Kyle, Chris’ wife and the mother of his children. And not surprisingly, Clint Eastwood knocked it out of the park in this go at the Director’s chair. This is his best movie in years, though one would hope so with Chris Kyle’s father threatening to unleash hell if the memory of his son was disrespected with the film.
Mr. Kyle’s passing was a tragic event for those that knew him, and even those that did not know him. I think he may rest well knowing that this film, adapted from his own auto-biography, was handled beautifully with such passion and respect. If I have one issue with the film, it was the rapidity at which things progressed. So many different events packed into 15 minute segments with time just seemed to be rushing like a river, and glossing over parts of the story that could really have used some more build up or exploring. But such is the case when adapting a movie from a book. Though I am sure that movie-goers would not have minded lengthy the movie a bit, even with a run-time of 132 minutes.
If you see one movie this month, let it be American Sniper. If you have not heard of Chris Kyle, or his story, go see American Sniper. Hopefully, the Legend will live on through the lives he touched, and saved.
American Sniper sees Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle in his second movie with “American” in the title (see 2013’s American Hustle). Most of us know the story of Chris Kyle, but for those that don’t here’s a quick rundown. Chris Kyle is the most lethal sniper in American history with 160 confirmed kills as a Navy SEAL, and another 95 probable kills. He served four tours, and wrote a book about his life. This film is based on that book. It tells the story of how he was influenced by his father, joined the military, and then went on to serve four tours while trying to balance his life at home with his wife and children. Acting as the true Sheepdog to all in his life, American Sniper looks at the struggle Kyle went through, and tells the story with passion and respect.
Cooper did a fantastic job portraying Texas-native Kyle. He was almost unrecognizable onscreen, as he put in 8 months of prep to get ready for this role, including a 4-hour a day training regime, and another two with a vocal coach. It was even said that some of Kyle’s brothers-in-arms who helped train Cooper and serve as consultants on the movie could feel his presence through Cooper at the end of training and all throughout filming. Sienna Miller was a great compliment to Cooper’s performance as Taya Kyle, Chris’ wife and the mother of his children. And not surprisingly, Clint Eastwood knocked it out of the park in this go at the Director’s chair. This is his best movie in years, though one would hope so with Chris Kyle’s father threatening to unleash hell if the memory of his son was disrespected with the film.
Mr. Kyle’s passing was a tragic event for those that knew him, and even those that did not know him. I think he may rest well knowing that this film, adapted from his own auto-biography, was handled beautifully with such passion and respect. If I have one issue with the film, it was the rapidity at which things progressed. So many different events packed into 15 minute segments with time just seemed to be rushing like a river, and glossing over parts of the story that could really have used some more build up or exploring. But such is the case when adapting a movie from a book. Though I am sure that movie-goers would not have minded lengthy the movie a bit, even with a run-time of 132 minutes.
If you see one movie this month, let it be American Sniper. If you have not heard of Chris Kyle, or his story, go see American Sniper. Hopefully, the Legend will live on through the lives he touched, and saved.