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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2271 KP) rated Dead and Gondola in Books
Jan 5, 2024
Dead Stranger in a Gondola
Ellie Christie (no relation to the famous author) has returned to help run the family's bookstore in a Colorado resort town. One day, a stranger comes into the store, hangs out for several hours, then takes off, leaving behind some belongings. The next time Ellie and her sister see the stranger, he is getting on the gondola that separates the two parts of town. But when they reach the bottom, he is dead. What happened to him? Who was he?
The premise of the setting and the mystery itself both intrigued me, so I was hoping to like this one. While the mystery started out strongly, it became uneven as the book went along. There are some good surprises along the way, and I was happy with the solution. It took a while for me to get to truly know the characters and setting. By the end, I felt at home, however. The result was a mixed debut. I'm not sorry I read the book, but I felt like I had to work at it a little more than I should have.
The premise of the setting and the mystery itself both intrigued me, so I was hoping to like this one. While the mystery started out strongly, it became uneven as the book went along. There are some good surprises along the way, and I was happy with the solution. It took a while for me to get to truly know the characters and setting. By the end, I felt at home, however. The result was a mixed debut. I'm not sorry I read the book, but I felt like I had to work at it a little more than I should have.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Love Wedding Repeat (2020) in Movies
Aug 16, 2020
Movie marketing departments, please repeat after me: "I will not mislead the audience with my blurb for the film."
Jack has to juggle with dramas at his sister's wedding to make sure a troublemaker doesn't ruin the whole day.
Love Wedding Repeat looks very much like every other romcom out there but its saving grace appeared to be an interesting cast and the fun alternate timelines we'd see as promised in the blurb... but don't get your hopes up on that last part. I rewatched the trailers to try and find out where I got the wrong end of the stick about this and I found it was only mildly implied, in fact, it's the synopsis that outright tells you "alternate versions of the same day".
What's given to us feels more like an accident, like they filmed heavy and then realised they were running out of time and needed to cram it in. The "alternate versions" are more of a footnote on the film and a wasted opportunity. You could have run the Groundhog Day-esque scenarios or had the comedy rewind sound and gone back to the beginning of the scene... but the comedy alternatives are really nowhere to be seen.
The lack of comedy doesn't stop there, for the most part the script isn't a great success, I don't think I even laughed once. It tries to rely on quite an aggressive humour (that might not make sense to you, but it does in my head!) and everything feels very forced.
A good cast can sometimes redeem those moments that don't land on the page but the majority of the characters are just forgettable. No one is particularly likeable and that was a real drawback when you add it onto all the other drawbacks.
Love Wedding Repeat feels terribly balanced, had any of the elements been even slightly better it could have made this more watchable, but alas, they weren't, so it wasn't. Simple as.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/08/love-wedding-repeat-movie-review.html
Jack has to juggle with dramas at his sister's wedding to make sure a troublemaker doesn't ruin the whole day.
Love Wedding Repeat looks very much like every other romcom out there but its saving grace appeared to be an interesting cast and the fun alternate timelines we'd see as promised in the blurb... but don't get your hopes up on that last part. I rewatched the trailers to try and find out where I got the wrong end of the stick about this and I found it was only mildly implied, in fact, it's the synopsis that outright tells you "alternate versions of the same day".
What's given to us feels more like an accident, like they filmed heavy and then realised they were running out of time and needed to cram it in. The "alternate versions" are more of a footnote on the film and a wasted opportunity. You could have run the Groundhog Day-esque scenarios or had the comedy rewind sound and gone back to the beginning of the scene... but the comedy alternatives are really nowhere to be seen.
The lack of comedy doesn't stop there, for the most part the script isn't a great success, I don't think I even laughed once. It tries to rely on quite an aggressive humour (that might not make sense to you, but it does in my head!) and everything feels very forced.
A good cast can sometimes redeem those moments that don't land on the page but the majority of the characters are just forgettable. No one is particularly likeable and that was a real drawback when you add it onto all the other drawbacks.
Love Wedding Repeat feels terribly balanced, had any of the elements been even slightly better it could have made this more watchable, but alas, they weren't, so it wasn't. Simple as.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/08/love-wedding-repeat-movie-review.html
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Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Abducted in Plain Sight (2017) in Movies
Apr 8, 2021
Now this one has to be seen to be believed! It is a short documentary film of about 90 minutes, not a series, but it plays like a longer episode of a series – except by the end there is no more to tell. In and out, thankfully! It is the story of Jan Broberg, a relatively successful Hollywood supporting actress, who wrote a book about her abduction by a close family friend when she was a child in the 70s. As the story unfolds, especially if you are a parent yourself, you will be screaming at the screen in total disbelief and indignation every ten minutes, and twice as loud at the end!
I can’t go into the details without ruining it, but suffice to say that the series of events is one of the strangest stories, fact or fiction, that I have ever heard! The audacity and total manipulation of the offender, in conjunction with the insane naivety of Jan and her parents is mind-blowing! How he got away with it in any way for longer than a day is unfathomable enough, but this was abuse that went on unpunished for years. Is it the bible belt attitude to blame? I am… still… scratching my head on this one! How did these events and crimes ever happen? Just, wow! Do yourself a favour if you want to be shocked and have a good rant at the TV, watch this and see for yourself.
I can’t go into the details without ruining it, but suffice to say that the series of events is one of the strangest stories, fact or fiction, that I have ever heard! The audacity and total manipulation of the offender, in conjunction with the insane naivety of Jan and her parents is mind-blowing! How he got away with it in any way for longer than a day is unfathomable enough, but this was abuse that went on unpunished for years. Is it the bible belt attitude to blame? I am… still… scratching my head on this one! How did these events and crimes ever happen? Just, wow! Do yourself a favour if you want to be shocked and have a good rant at the TV, watch this and see for yourself.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Miracle Sin in Books
Jan 19, 2024
13 of 220
Kindle
The Miracle Sin
By Marcus Hawke
⭐️⭐️
Have you ever wondered if there’s more to life? If we are destined for something great, part of a divine plan rather than just subjects of random chaos? Mason Cole has wondered these things. And he has the answer… No. How could that be when his parents were killed in an earthquake that destroyed the city of Jerusalem, yet he alone survived? How could he be destined for great things when he’s stuck in a town-shaped reststop where nothing he does makes a difference? And why would God do this to him in the first place?
Then one day a stranger passes through town, bringing with him a unique explanation of his past, one he never could have imagined, and wishes he could forget. It sounds like something from one of his books, only this time it’s happening to him, and it becomes clear that not every miracle is a blessing. Now, with a red-haired devil hell bent on possessing him for his own sinister gains, Mason must discover the answers to these questions if he ever hopes to survive in a world where the dark no longer hides that which dwells within.
This started of so so well but it lost me in the middle and then the end just couldn’t get me back. It drifted off and was a bit slow going. Such a shame as the concept is really good.
Kindle
The Miracle Sin
By Marcus Hawke
⭐️⭐️
Have you ever wondered if there’s more to life? If we are destined for something great, part of a divine plan rather than just subjects of random chaos? Mason Cole has wondered these things. And he has the answer… No. How could that be when his parents were killed in an earthquake that destroyed the city of Jerusalem, yet he alone survived? How could he be destined for great things when he’s stuck in a town-shaped reststop where nothing he does makes a difference? And why would God do this to him in the first place?
Then one day a stranger passes through town, bringing with him a unique explanation of his past, one he never could have imagined, and wishes he could forget. It sounds like something from one of his books, only this time it’s happening to him, and it becomes clear that not every miracle is a blessing. Now, with a red-haired devil hell bent on possessing him for his own sinister gains, Mason must discover the answers to these questions if he ever hopes to survive in a world where the dark no longer hides that which dwells within.
This started of so so well but it lost me in the middle and then the end just couldn’t get me back. It drifted off and was a bit slow going. Such a shame as the concept is really good.
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