Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (2626)

Content

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2340 KP) rated Queen of Hearts (Her Royal Spyness Mysteries, #8) in Books

Mar 9, 2018

Georgie is off to America with her mother, actress Claire Daniels. But their Atlantic crossing is marred by a jewel thief and a possible murder that only Georgie witnesses. And the danger follows them when they hit America and head to Hollywood of the 1930's.

Despite the number of miles the characters cover, the plot holds together well and we still get to see many of the series regulars, who were charming as always. Being an entertainment junky, I enjoyed this fictional look at old Hollywood and seeing the real people who made cameos over the course of the book. All told, another great read in a fun series.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2014/08/book-review-queen-of-hearts-by-rhys.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.

Kudos

Watch Me

Anjelica Huston

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Picking up where A Story Lately Told leaves off, when Anjelica Huston is 22 years old, Watch Me...

Hal (2018)

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Movie Watch

Between 1970 and 1979, the films of Hal Ashby collected seven Academy Awards and 24 Academy Award...

documentary

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2340 KP) rated Hollywood Ending in Books

Aug 11, 2018

I Didn’t Want Hollywood Ending to End

It’s awards season in Hollywood and actress turned PI Day Anderson is celebrating when her boyfriend, Omari, is nomination for the Silver Sphere Award. However, after one of the parties he has to attend to mingle with the judges, Lily Davis is murdered. Lily was a publicist for the Silver Sphere Awards, and they have offered a reward for information leading to the arrest of her killer, so naturally Day jumps in to solve the case. This one seems much easier than her first murder case. Is she missing something?

Of course, she is, and the book soon involves plenty of complications that kept me reading as fast as I could. There are some fun twists before we reach the climax. Day and all her friends are back, and I loved spending more time with them and seeing how their relationships have changed. I also really enjoy the insider’s look at life in the Hollywood world. Everything is brought together by humor that had me laughing and smiling the entire way through the book. Those who loved the first book will be equally delighted with this one. And if you haven’t started this series yet, you need to do so today.

Kudos

Becoming Magic (Sleight of Hand #5)

Michelle Garren Flye

6.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Carole Barnes once believed she would make her own way in Hollywood, but those days are long gone,...

Contemporary Romance

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2340 KP) rated A Killing in Costumes in Books

May 9, 2025

Memorabilia to Die For

Jay and Cindy were on their way to a successful career in Hollywood until their marriage ended when they both realized they were gay. Now, a couple of decades later, they are opening a Hollywood memorabilia shop in Palm Springs. Things are off to a slow start until aging actress Yana Tosh contacts them about selling her collection of Hollywood costumes. She’s talking to a larger auction house as well, and when Cindy and Jay’s competition dies, they quickly find themselves suspects. Can they clear their names?

This book has been on my radar for a while, and I’m glad I finally picked it up. The writing did make it hard to get into the story originally, but soon I was hooked on the mystery. There were several good twists and surprises on the way to the logical climax. Jay and Cindy share lead character duties, and they lead a cast of characters I enjoyed getting to know. And I smiled at the many references to classic movies, tv shows, and stars of the screen. We also get talk about classic musicians. At this point, this is looking like a standalone novel, but if a sequel does pop up, I’d be happy to visit Cindy and Jay again.

Kudos

Dork_knight74 (881 KP) rated Escape Room (2019) in Movies

May 7, 2019

Escape Room (2019)

2019 | Action, Horror, Thriller

6.4

(46 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Great

This movie turned out to be a great thriller. The characters were interesting and the song was good. The cinematography/effects were decent and not gruesome. The story tied together and lasted out well. The "trap" rooms are pretty creative too. The ending left it open for a sequel(like Hollywood loves to do anymore). Overall, really worth a watch.

Kudos

Mayhawke (97 KP) rated Collateral (2004) in Movies

Feb 9, 2018

Collateral (2004)

2004 | Action, Drama, Mystery

7.3

(19 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Cruise and Foxx deliver

Unsuspecting cabbie finds himself driving round an assasin who has dropped into town for a spot of serial murder.

Unexpectedly good. Probably the best performances I had seen from both Cruise and Foxx at this point.
Foxx's character is nicely convincing thanks to a lack of fake hollywood-heroism. Cruise's charater is just a bad, baaad man.