Search
Search results

BeardyJim (611 KP) rated Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1) in Books
Oct 25, 2021
Excellent narration (on audible) (2 more)
Very funny
Brilliant characters
Steampunk vamp & werewolf fun
Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series is absolutely brilliant, and this is the first in the series, following the soulless protagonist Alexia Tarrabotti on her adventures with vampires and werewolves in Victorian Britain, with twists and turns aplenty.
I listened to this via Audible, and really enjoyed it... So I'd urge anyone to pick up these books (either physical, or audiobook), as it's extremely enjoyable.
The style of writing is excellent, and Carriger has a wicked sense of humour.
I now need to start the Finishing School series!
I listened to this via Audible, and really enjoyed it... So I'd urge anyone to pick up these books (either physical, or audiobook), as it's extremely enjoyable.
The style of writing is excellent, and Carriger has a wicked sense of humour.
I now need to start the Finishing School series!

GustavoCampello (6 KP) rated The Wild Goose Lake (2019) in Movies
Feb 10, 2022
Beautiful film nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The director plays with various genres ranging from action, drama, noir and romance. The technical part is perfect and the rhythm helps a lot. It's funny how during the film we completely forget that the main character is not really a good guy, but a criminal without many scruples, and this is a very interesting asset of the film, as he intentionally manipulates the spectator's perception. The performances are great, but it's a picture movie, even when the lighting is dark. There are some clichés throughout the movie, but the pacing helps to soften that. I really liked it.

Dean (6927 KP) rated Murder Mystery 2 (2023) in Movies
Apr 1, 2023
Ok follow up
A follow up to @Murder Mystery (2019) that doesn't seem to have had much publicity. Just popped up on Top picks this week.
Much the same formula as before our detective couple are invited to a wedding on a remote island, perfect setting for a murder or not?
Didn't really make great use of the remote island setting and less of a Murder Mystery this time round with more action. Still very fun scenes nearly all with the main couple on screen. Maybe not as lavish as the first but still a fun film.
Much the same formula as before our detective couple are invited to a wedding on a remote island, perfect setting for a murder or not?
Didn't really make great use of the remote island setting and less of a Murder Mystery this time round with more action. Still very fun scenes nearly all with the main couple on screen. Maybe not as lavish as the first but still a fun film.

Charlotte (184 KP) rated Here We Go Loop De Loop in Books
Oct 26, 2021
A rich, funny, entertaining read.
Here we go loop de loop is a cracker. With well written and interesting characters you can't help but slide into Texas with them and forget the real world.
It's quite an emotional read that was pulling at my heart strings but also resonating with the other things too. It had me laughing out loud and, I admit to a few tears too.
So, if you're looking for something that will have you immersed for hours, make you laugh, cry, get you frustrated and fulfilled then grab this with both hands, run and hide away from reality with your cuppa.
Here we go loop de loop is a cracker. With well written and interesting characters you can't help but slide into Texas with them and forget the real world.
It's quite an emotional read that was pulling at my heart strings but also resonating with the other things too. It had me laughing out loud and, I admit to a few tears too.
So, if you're looking for something that will have you immersed for hours, make you laugh, cry, get you frustrated and fulfilled then grab this with both hands, run and hide away from reality with your cuppa.

Perfect Storm (Life Sucks #6)
Book
He left her. Now she was back…with his son in tow. Four years ago, he’d been a jerk with a...
Contemporary Romance Humor

BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Night School (2018) in Movies
Oct 15, 2018
Funny...enough - especially the classmates
Both Kevin Hart and Tiffany Hadish are comedic performers that can wear their welcome out if they are not reigned in properly. They both serve best as the comic "2nd banana" of a film, rather than the lead, so it was with some trepidation that I checked out the Hart/Haddish starring comedy NIGHT SCHOOL and when the first meeting of the two was the both of them running their very fast mouths at each other, I thought - for sure - that they would wear their welcome out with me.
But a funny thing happened on the way to Night School - the focus of this film veered away from these two bantering with each other and settled into a fairly funny, fairly innocuous comedy that I walked away liking.
Directed by Malcolm D. Lee (GIRLS TRIP), Night School stars Hart as a High School drop-out who is now a motor-mouthed salesman who loses his job and just might lose his girl if he doesn't go back and get his GED so he can land a new job. Haddish stars as the teacher of the Night School. Both the leads are used sparingly enough that they were enjoyable participants in this film.
But for me, the strength of this film comes in the rogues gallery of comedians that were brought in to play the other students in the Night School. Rob Riggle, Mary-Lynn Rajskub, Romany Malco, Fat Joe and Al Madrigal are all winning and comforting strengths of this film as the adult "Breakfast Club" that fall under the spell - and direction - of Hart's character. It is a group that I loved spending time with and wouldn't mind spending more time with.
And I'm glad they are there for the Direction, plot twists and other characters are all pretty predictable, but they made it an enjoyable enough romp that I fall on the side of recommending it - especially if you are looking for a mindless comedy that will NOT require you to break into a discussion group afterward. A good "Netflix", rental or rainy afternoon on TBS comedy.
Letter Grade: B-
6 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the BankofMarquis
But a funny thing happened on the way to Night School - the focus of this film veered away from these two bantering with each other and settled into a fairly funny, fairly innocuous comedy that I walked away liking.
Directed by Malcolm D. Lee (GIRLS TRIP), Night School stars Hart as a High School drop-out who is now a motor-mouthed salesman who loses his job and just might lose his girl if he doesn't go back and get his GED so he can land a new job. Haddish stars as the teacher of the Night School. Both the leads are used sparingly enough that they were enjoyable participants in this film.
But for me, the strength of this film comes in the rogues gallery of comedians that were brought in to play the other students in the Night School. Rob Riggle, Mary-Lynn Rajskub, Romany Malco, Fat Joe and Al Madrigal are all winning and comforting strengths of this film as the adult "Breakfast Club" that fall under the spell - and direction - of Hart's character. It is a group that I loved spending time with and wouldn't mind spending more time with.
And I'm glad they are there for the Direction, plot twists and other characters are all pretty predictable, but they made it an enjoyable enough romp that I fall on the side of recommending it - especially if you are looking for a mindless comedy that will NOT require you to break into a discussion group afterward. A good "Netflix", rental or rainy afternoon on TBS comedy.
Letter Grade: B-
6 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the BankofMarquis

Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated 30 Minutes or Less (2011) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
You don’t have to be imaginative to envision the plot behind “30 Minutes or Less”, because this is a story that is wildly over told. Just listing the components make it clear that no inventive or unexpected plot devices were considered in the creation of this summer comedy. There is the pizza boy who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, a set of bumbling idiots who are planning a bank heist and even a girl who is oblivious to the longstanding affection of her brother’s best friend. But somehow even with this wildly over told plot the movie manages to be sporadically very funny.
“ 30 Minutes or Less” is, like so many of the big comedy hits of the last few years, a film that centers around well crafted honest yet crass dialogue between experienced comedic actors. Timing is critical to the success of the film and thankfully the actors in “30 Minutes or Less” are funny people who repeatedly manage to execute good lines.
The cast is the shining aspect of the film; a hodgepodge crew of comedians you likely already know. The best friend Chet is portrayed by the ever funny Aziz Ansari of Televisions’ “Parks and Recreation”. The bomb clad pizza boy Nick is played by Jesse Einsenberg who also starred in “The Social Network” and “Zombieland”. And this role is not a far cry from Einsenberg’s role in “Zombieland” aside from the lack of character development and on screen chemistry leading lady Kate, played by former TV “Greek” bad girl Dilshad Vadsaria.
The film is backed by a fun soundtrack of grooves that significantly assist in maintaining a quickened pace, even when the story is less than laughably slow. There are also a number of diverse yet comedic fight scenes that spot the film, from a juvenile slap fight to the use of a blow torch.
But the smattering of creative lines, sure to be repeated in excess by the post-emo generation, did not manage to hold up this film that unfortunately ran out of steam within “30 Minutes or Less”.
“ 30 Minutes or Less” is, like so many of the big comedy hits of the last few years, a film that centers around well crafted honest yet crass dialogue between experienced comedic actors. Timing is critical to the success of the film and thankfully the actors in “30 Minutes or Less” are funny people who repeatedly manage to execute good lines.
The cast is the shining aspect of the film; a hodgepodge crew of comedians you likely already know. The best friend Chet is portrayed by the ever funny Aziz Ansari of Televisions’ “Parks and Recreation”. The bomb clad pizza boy Nick is played by Jesse Einsenberg who also starred in “The Social Network” and “Zombieland”. And this role is not a far cry from Einsenberg’s role in “Zombieland” aside from the lack of character development and on screen chemistry leading lady Kate, played by former TV “Greek” bad girl Dilshad Vadsaria.
The film is backed by a fun soundtrack of grooves that significantly assist in maintaining a quickened pace, even when the story is less than laughably slow. There are also a number of diverse yet comedic fight scenes that spot the film, from a juvenile slap fight to the use of a blow torch.
But the smattering of creative lines, sure to be repeated in excess by the post-emo generation, did not manage to hold up this film that unfortunately ran out of steam within “30 Minutes or Less”.

Let's Just Say it Wasn't Pretty
Book
From Academy Award winner and bestselling author Diane Keaton comes a candid, hilarious, and deeply...

For Crying Out Loud: The World According to Clarkson: v. 3
Book
Jeremy Clarkson, shares his opinions on just about everything in For Crying Out Loud. The...

The Woman Who Stole My Life
Book
Ever wish you could trade your life in for a better one? The Woman Who Stole My Life is a story full...