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The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
1994 | Drama
Great movie with one annoying flaw
Contains spoilers, click to show
I saw this movie for the first time only recently after hearing my friends preach about it for years. I knew it was a short story by Steven King that was adapted into an extremely long movie, but I had no idea what the movie was about until I hit that play button.

The question of whether or not Andy actually killed his wife and her lover is never answered. I’d held my breath hoping we’d get some form of true closure, but with the events that transpire, any chances of finding out what truly happened is shut down.

The biggest reason that I would prefer to give this film an 8.5 however is the boring stereotypical ending involving Andy escaping, the evil Warden dying, the mean enforcer being enforced, and Red simply joining Andy in dream land working together forever more to live happily ever after. It feels like they just got bored after writing such a long script that they wrote a placeholder then walked away, forgetting to come back later and finish. Disappointing.
  
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Sallyanne Golding (0 KP) Mar 20, 2018

You do find out about andys wife. He didnt kill her, this other man did and he bragged about it to the young new in mate who arrived at shawshank. He told andy and andy went to the warden and got thrown in the whole for a month.

I thought the ending was perfect because andy was innocent and deserved to be free and he brought the whole prison down in the process and as red got released for finally serving his time and living out the remainder of his days with his best friend was brilliant.

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Dakota Morrill (17 KP) Jul 11, 2018

The idea was that the guy claimed to know who did it, but evidence was never brought forth and they never got a confession due to the warden not wanting to take the chance of losing Andy and so its ultimately up to the viewer to interpret and while you could claim what you have, there is no definite answer.

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Rebecca Billcliff (2409 KP) rated the PC version of The Sims 3 in Video Games

Jan 25, 2020  
The Sims 3
The Sims 3
Simulation
Fun deaths (0 more)
Forgetting to save (0 more)
The "motherload" of games
Like many people, I have lost countless hours to this game. Spending my time living the lives of made up people instead of living my own. And yet, how I miss it!
Ruby Stone, explorer of tombs, rider of horses, collector of crap. High fitness level, but bust, but a bit of a loner.
Just how much time I wasted waiting for Egypt to load so I could cram in as much tomb raiding before the vacation need, it is impossible to tell. But what I do know, is if I had the time these days, I would do it all again.
Why?
Because reality sucks!
Soothing my anger with the creation of a haunted mansion, by killing all the residents in a house fire by putting them all in a room with several open fireplaces, rugs everywhere, and removing all the doors and windows. Or getting someone into the pool and taking away the ladder.
Ahhh, the cheapest therapy there is.
  
The Avengers (2012)
The Avengers (2012)
2012 | Action, Sci-Fi
Known in the UK as 'Avenger's Assemble' (to avoid confusion with the other Avengers film!), this was the first of the MCUs big-screen cross-overs, bringing Captain America, Tony Stark/Iron Man, Bruce Banner/The Hulk (here played by Mark Ruffalo instead of Ed Norton), Thor, Black Widow and Hawkeye (and not forgetting Agent Coulson, pre TVs Agents of SHIELD!) all together for the very first time to face off against Thor's brother Loki, returned from the (supposed) dead and at the head of an army of Chitauri - with the post-credit sting revealing, for the very first time, just how is the 'big bad' behind the entire thing!

That 'Battle of New York' at the end of the film would have further ramifications down the line in both the movie and TV side of things for Marvel, with the (not shown here) clean up activities afterwards even providing the impetus for one of the newer (at the time of writing) releases, in Phase III's Spiderman: Homecoming
  
Days That I'll Remeber: Spending Time with John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Days That I'll Remeber: Spending Time with John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Jonathan Cott | 2013 | Biography, Music & Dance
(0 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"Jonathan Cott is somebody we all know in our circle to be a quiet genius. Rolling Stone asked him to interview us a few times. This book is a collection of those interviews. Nothing more. Reading it, I thought “Wow, we weren’t bad at all.” Because most writers wanted to sensationalize us, thinking that if they didn’t do that, it might be boring – and nobody would buy the book! So their ‘interviews’ usually came out nothing like what we were like. I have never recommended any books about John and Yoko. But this book made me choke up. I heard John in my ears and felt him in my heart. This is a good book for Lennon fans. And I.. Well, I come out as the second banana (okay, okay!) You will get an inkling of two people in love, sometimes making daring remarks, yet not forgetting to protect each other in the interviews. In fact, this is really the way we were, folks! Have a good read."

Source
  
The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature (2017)
The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature (2017)
2017 | Animation, Comedy, Family
Surly and the rest of the park gang are feeling right at home in the Nut Shop. But Andie worries that everyone is forgetting what it's like to be wild and forage for their own food. So when the Nut Shop explodes, she's the only one who is properly prepared for the food shortage.

Scrounging isn't Surly's style though, and he's determined to find them somewhere new while everyone else waits. But after a few attempts he realises it's too difficult and they might as well give up trying.

The park looks like their best option, but when the corrupt mayor starts his plan to make the park pay its way, they all need to band together to save the last home they have left.

The best thing about this film, by far, was Mr Feng... Jackie Chan as a weapon of mouse-destruction? Just what I'd been missing in my life. And that 1/16th inch punch... classic.

It's not exactly high brow, but it's amusing. I won't be bothered about ever seeing it again, but it certainly passed sometime.
  
TC
The Charity Shop Detective Agency
Peter Boland | 2022 | Crime, Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Every now and again I like to take a break from the usual hard-hitting, dark and gritty crime thrillers I usually read and immerse myself into something a little more sedate and The Charity Shop Detective Agency hit the spot perfectly.

I absolutely fell in love with the three main characters in this story - Fiona, Partial Sue and Daisy ... oh and not forgetting Simon Le Bon! Despite being retired, they have the skills and insight needed to assist in bringing the perpetrator to justice. There is a supporting cast of equally excellent characters that all added to and had their place within the story.

The plot is engaging and had some great twists and turns that kept me guessing and on my toes. The pacing was perfect for me and felt right for the story.

Highly recommended to those who enjoy a cozy mystery with believable characters and I can't wait for the next in the series ... sign me up!

Many thanks to Joffe Books and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Charity Shop Detective Agency.
  
Indiana jones and the dial of destiny (2023)
Indiana jones and the dial of destiny (2023)
2023 | Action, Adventure
9
7.8 (9 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Harrison ford (1 more)
Phobe waller-bridge
Start off by saying this is better indiana jones film than kingdom of crystal skull said it I would say 4th best indie film of the 5 with last crusade being the best if this the last one then it out on high there's plenty from the start showing a younger indiana jones doing what he does best defeating nazis In search of the mcguffin of the title and then we see older at the end of his career u know the rest its a fun movie with plenty of good action scenes not forgetting the new casting of phobe waller-bridge as his sidekick have to admit she's rather good some point gonna have to watch flea bag and then there's mads mikkelsen as the villian of the movie and does it so well as only mads can overall u see it definitely.
My top five indie films
1 last crusade
2 raiders of the lost ark
3 Temple of doom
4 dial of destiny
5 kingdom of crystal skull
  
Good Me, Bad Me
Good Me, Bad Me
Ali Land | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.0 (21 Ratings)
Book Rating
Read my review here: http://bookbumzuky.wordpress.com/

AVAILABLE NOW!

<b><i>I promised to be the best I could. I promised to try… Forgive me.</b></i>

Wow. This book was far, far better than I was expecting it to be. I had left it in my library for so long that I had forgotten what it was even about when I picked it up to read. <i>Be warned,</i> there are <b>triggers</b> to note in this book (sexual, physical and emotional abuse of a child, self harm and child murder) but Land is decent enough not to delve too deeply into any of these topics.

The plot for this was new to me, I don’t think I’ve ever read a novel with a similar plot line, though I may be forgetting (I won’t be forgetting about this one)! Annie, whose name is changed to Milly for protection reasons, is the daughter of a serial killer. And while her mother's trial looms, Milly is trying to move on, forget her old life and fit in with her foster family but nightmarish nighttime visits and a constant inner voice from her mother don’t make any of this easy. Stuck in a battle of nature and nurture, Milly is terrified of what she might become. Fighting with herself daily to be the “good me” is tough, because afterall, she is her mother's daughter.

The writing style of this novel is incredible. It was snappy, fast paced yet added to the mystery of the plot. It kept me wanting to know more, which is exactly why I read the novel in under 24 hours. My only, <i>tiny</i>, gripe with the writing, was sometimes, <i>very occasionally</i>, sentences were structured in a way that made it sound like Milly was Yoda... but I only noticed it a couple of times throughout the entire thing.

<b>Twisted, shocking, unputdownable and unforgettable.</b> This is set to be one of the best debuts of 2017 and is by far one of the best debuts I’ve read this year (I finished this in late 2016, not early 2017!!). I’m excited to see what other books Land can produce.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.
  
Wolves of Dynamo
Wolves of Dynamo
Gareth S. Young | 2016 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Unsatisfying conclusion (1 more)
Flat characters
Needs a lot of polish
This book arrived unexpectedly in the mail – I believe it was from a Goodreads Giveaway, but I was never notified I’d won one. It’s even signed by the author!

I am….a little puzzled on how I feel about this book. It has a bit of a confusing, dream-like quality to it, which fits the book, but left me a little less than satisfied. It always felt like I was forgetting details, or like the book assumed I knew things about the world that I didn’t. (Much like many dreams.) The plot was unique, the characters could have used more depth, the division between forest and city was indistinct, and the conclusion was unsatisfying. It could have been very good, but I think it needs a lot more polish.

The physical book itself felt like an ARC, even though it’s not. I think it’s the simplistic cover and the typesetting. It just doesn’t feel – finished. Like much of the book. I’d give this a pass, but I might be interested in future writings by the author, if his style matures and his editor improves.
  
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Janeeny (200 KP) rated The Iliad in Books

Jun 10, 2019  
The Iliad
The Iliad
Homer, E.V. Rieu, Peter Jones | 2014 | Essays
6
7.1 (11 Ratings)
Book Rating
Personally I think this should have also counted towards my classic read for the month aswell, but hey, I don’t make the rules . . oh, wait . .
For those of you not in the know The Iliad is Homers epic poem about the Trojan war, this version was translated by EV Rieu.
What can I say about this, without sounding like a complete philistine? It is essentially a Soap Opera based around testosterone fuelled macho men and a bunch of Gods having a hissy fit! I loved it!

Crivens, there’s a lot of people in it though!! It did take me a little while to get into it, and being a little rusty on my Greek mythology I kept forgetting who was on whose side, but I eventually found my stride, and if you can wade through all the different ways that different people were killed (Homer does really like describing how each person died, potentially the Tarantino of his day!) It is a really detailed account of a mythological war that inspired a whole wealth of literature, and I can see why it is a classic.