Search

Search only in certain items:

Captain Marvel (2019)
Captain Marvel (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure
Brie Larson and Samuel Jackson had great chemistry on screen, Ben Mendelssohn totally stole the show and was my favorite character, really great cast of supporting characters. (0 more)
No the most engaging Marvel movie, a couple scenes felt forced, Nick Fury's eye, really ?!? Lol (0 more)
Hate It or Love It: Captain Marvel Has Arrived - 8/10
Captain Marvel is a 2019 superhero action/sci-fi movie based on the Marvel Comics character Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel. It was produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The movie was written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, with the screenplay also being contributed on by Geneva Robertson-Dworet. Starring Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, and Jude Law.


On planet Hala, the capital of the Kree Empire, a female warrior named Vers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) suffers from nightmares involving a woman she doesn't recognize. She doesn't remember much from before her time on Hala. With assistance from her commander and mentor, Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), she's learning to control her powers and emotions during battle as is the Kree way. Her unit, Starforce, are given a mission to rescue an undercover Kree operative who might be compromised by enemies called the Skrull, a race of shape-shifting aliens. They must act quickly or the information the operative has will fall into the wrong hands. During the mission things don't go well and Vers/Captain Marvel is captured by the Skrulls who use a device to scour her memories which include the lady from her nightmares. She learns the woman's name is Dr. Wendy Lawson (Annette Bening), and that her memories from her past suggest that she has spent some time on Earth. She is escapes to Earth 1995, where she must find the woman and the secrets to her past.


 This movie was pretty awesome. I really liked it and enjoyed it very much. I thought it went by smoothly and the writers had a clear plot, but might not be the most engaging for some people. I know this movie got a lot of hate before it even came out but honestly I didn't see a lot to complain about. Yes it is empowering for females but I didn't feel like it was forced; save for maybe a couple of scenes. It was rated PG-13 so some of the themes might be beyond what children can fully understand but definitely a good fit for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I really like the chemistry between Captain Marvel and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). To me there was an exclusively entertaining character in the Skrull Talos (Ben Mendelsohn). He was a pleasant surprise and pretty funny. I thought the casting was very well too, even for the supporting characters like other Kree, Skrulls, and even Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers b.f.f. Movie was generally fun and pretty action-packed. I give it an 8/10.
(2)   
40x40

Duff McKagan recommended Clash by The Clash in Music (curated)

 
Clash by The Clash
Clash by The Clash
1977 | Rock
8.6 (5 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I got that record from my brother-in-law for Christmas - we have this huge family and so we were picking names from a hat and whoever you got the name of you bought a present for. My brother-in-law was this cool fucking dude who listened to college radio and he got me that first Clash record and I got to see them later that year so I guess it was Christmas 1978. We had the US version, it was just called The Clash with the green cover – you knew that if you were American, 'cos we were like, ""we cant get the real fucking English version"" - I mean they had it on import, but it was so expensive. I don’t know what my musical life would have been like if I didn’t get to see that gig. It was really exotic for that band to come and play Seattle. The whole Seattle community was there and it was probably only 200 people but it felt like everybody in the world was there. I remember there was this wooden barrier and this security guy in front of the pit who didn’t know how to deal with a punk rock audience, and he just decked this kid and broke his nose and The Clash just stopped the gig. And Paul Simonon or someone grabbed an axe and broke down the barrier! And I remember Joe Strummer saying, ""there’s no difference between us and you guys, these barriers and shit are separating us"", and it suddenly dawned on me. They were totally against the whole rock star thing, like there’s not us and there’s you, it was like we were all in this together. I guess I’d be lying if I said in the nineties I didn’t have… not ‘punk rock guilt’ exactly, but there would be a lot of bands that came up, like Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, there were guys who were in the punk rock scene and this was what was next, and as a young dude you feel a little guilty when you’re suddenly selling millions of records. But no-one sold their soul or changed their fucking tune, this was what evolved out of punk rock. Looking back it was a natural progression. Guns was a mix of a lot of different input, punk rock, seventies rock, and it was about doing something different and maybe that’s what punk rock sounded like at that point, I don’t know (laughs). I mean Guns was as DIY as it got, we would hitchhike 1,200 miles to get to a gig but we just went to the next level in getting a major label deal, that was the big change. But I took that ethic with me that Strummer had said. I don’t know any different, I’m honoured to be playing gigs and I’ve always paid tribute to that way of thinking."

Source
  
Outstanding insight, meticulous and moving
Other than historians and international lawyers you will not have heard of the lawyer Hersch Lauterpacht yet he is a very important figure in Philippe Sands' magnificent book.

East West Street is different and distinct in many meaningful ways, telling the fascinating story of the beginning of international human rights, but rather do so as dry legal history it focuses on two of the most significant individuals.

The author weaves the stories of Lauterpacht and Raphael Lemkin into Sands' own personal family story, which all tie into the 'city of lions' (Lviv/Lwow/Lemberg) in the first few decades of the 20th century. Both men and Sand's own family lived here, a place where East and West meet, hence the book's title.

It culminates into their assistance with the Nuremburg trials of ten senior Nazi figures, with Lauterpacht preparing the first drafts of the opening and closing speeches of the chief prosecution. Crucially he crafted the wording of Article 6 of the Nuremberg Charter, enshrining crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression into international law. Lemkin, in the same vein, constructed the concept of genocide, even coining the term.

And Sands discusses his detective work to find answers to numerous questions about his family. In the end his journey reveals tragedy, but a tragedy lightened by knowing the truth.

This is an outstanding book by a barrister, filmmaker and writer. It reeks of intellectual strength, and truly superb.
  
Betrayed: Days of the Rogue (Law of the Lycans #4)
Betrayed: Days of the Rogue (Law of the Lycans #4)
Nicky Charles | 2013 | Erotica, Paranormal, Romance
8
7.0 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Betrayed: Days of the Rogue (Law of the Lycans #4) by Nicky Charles
Betrayed: Days of the Rogue promised to be an intriguing read, highlighting one of my favourite characters - Damien. However I will admit to being slightly disappointed as he wasn't in it as much as I wanted. Now, don't get me wrong. He still plays a major part in this book, but mainly it is about Eve and Rafe (which I guess is as it should be being as they're the romantic stars!) Still, Damien is such a fantastic character that I wanted more.

Moving on - this book has plenty of twists and turns, and you don't know until the end just which side Damien is on. There are murders happening of those with Fae blood, and it looks like Eve will be the next one. Rafe knows all about rogues from his time working with them. He also knows that the man on his territory is Damien. Rafe thinks Damien is the one doing the killing - he is a rogue after all. With old friends showing up, this is a great story and also shows that Eve is more than capable of rescuing herself!

Well written, with no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt the reading flow, this was a great addition to the series, and definitely recommended by me.

* Verified Purchase ~ April 2013 *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
(1)   
The Finding (Law of the Lycans, #5)
The Finding (Law of the Lycans, #5)
Nicky Charles | 2011 | Erotica, Paranormal, Romance
8
9.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Finding (Law of the Lycans #5) by Nicky Charles
The Finding wraps up the story of Cassandra, Marla, and Leon Aldrich. In this book, Bryan manages to find Cassandra and heads off to Vegas to bring her back. He has been obsessed with finding her for years, and now it's his chance. Although Cassandra is having 'fun' in Vegas, she still has no wish to become a wolf, or part of a pack - not after watching her uncle be murdered by one. Through a series of events, Cassandra doesn't really have a choice, and Bryan does all he can for her. We also get to spend some time with Ryne and Mel, and Kane and Elise, which leads nicely onto Damien's book.

I will say that the parts with Marla and her wolf were excellent writing. Marla went from being the big bad, to one you feel sorry for. Franklin is another superb character, and I love the idea of him, Mrs Teasdale, and Meredith wandering around doing their thing! Read it, you'll find out what I mean.

Another excellently written story by Nicky Charles, finishing this round of stories (for now). I'm very glad I've got around to reading them now, although I'm sorry it's taken me five years to do so. If you want a thick paranormal read to sink your teeth into, then I can highly recommend this book and the series.

* Verified Purchase ~ April 2013 *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
Farmer Boy (Little House, #3)
Farmer Boy (Little House, #3)
Laura Ingalls Wilder | 2007 | Fiction & Poetry
8
9.2 (10 Ratings)
Book Rating
A complete change of direction in this book with not one mention of the Ingalls and their plight in the Wild West to that of the Wilders in New York and little Almanzo Wilder; desperate to be seen as old enough to break colts and be like his father.

Despite finding it difficult to get into initially, mostly due to the sudden change in family situations and characters which disrupts flow, the book is actually my favourite one so far and I can fully understand what a young Laura Ingalls would have seen in the charming and clever Almanzo Wilder! He's a character that is a lovable rouge, you feel his trepidation at having blacked the wall in the parlour and his joy at getting his own colt to break.

The book doesn't progress the story of Laura, who is the heroine of the series, however it does give us a snippet into the life of her future family in law in the same loving, simplistic style of writing which truly endears the characters to the reader in a most natural fashion.

A good read, full of an accurate snippet into the life of a big farm and it's family at work. The focus on boys life is a pleasant change and the village life we see is most enjoyable to read and wonderful to learn about. A definite recommend to young and old alike.
  
The Lost Kings: Lancaster, York and Tudor
The Lost Kings: Lancaster, York and Tudor
Amy Licence | 2017 | Biography
1
1.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Ummmm, the paper quality was nice...... (0 more)
Errors, Errors, Errors (0 more)
Riddled with Errors - Drove me to Despair!
The Lost Kings of Lancaster, York & Tudor by Amy Licence might be better as The Lost Copy Editor. There were so many mistakes it was just laughable. You're trying to read something and stopping really frequently as brain is telling you something doesn't add up. I got so frustrated that even in the first chapter I started writing in amendments with a pencil! In fact the first chapter is itself a massive blunder - it's entitled Edmund, Duke (Sic) of Rutland! How could the son of James I die in 1598 when Elizabeth I was still on the English throne and he wasn't James I? Well, he didn't die until 1612, as I ascertained within seconds - if only someone here had done the same!

The stuff about attitudes towards death and the impact of the deaths of these individuals was fairly interesting, but a lot of it was trying to squeeze complicated history into a relatively short space, which didn't do it justice. There are also rather large assumptions made without any particular evidence of reasoning. She goes on and on about Edward V being murdered, when in fact there isn't any evidence that would stand up in a court of law that he was killed by anyone. She apparently thinks that the Tyrell smothering story is 'most likely'. If she really believes that, there's a bridge I'd like to sell her......
  
Passengers (2016)
Passengers (2016)
2016 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Who needs moral culpability when you have J-Law in her pants?
Contains spoilers, click to show
Good-looking SF movie that goes to prove that all you need is two good-looking charismatic stars and a very misleading ad campaign and people will flock to see your film, no matter how creepy and rapey the story actually is. Male passenger (Pratt) on a long-haul space flight wakes up early due to an accident, finds himself facing the prospect of living out his life alone on the ship (trip will take nearly a century, everyone else is still in hypersleep). He goes a bit mad from isolation, becomes obsessed with a female corpsicle (Lawrence), and decides to wake her up so he will have company even though he is condemning her to the same fate as him. Naturally he neglects to mention his own culpability in all this, even after they get it on.

And people call this a romance?!? A paean to stalking, more like. All the other flaws in Passengers (and there are a few: the premises of the film don't quite hang together, for example) fall away compared to the simple fact that the protagonist does several truly horrible things, for which he is never really held to account. Obligatory shots of Lawrence in a swimsuit/lingerie happen along as well, of course. I'd say it was the usual sort of no-brainer inoffensive tosh, but it really leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.
(1)   
The Giver of Stars
The Giver of Stars
Jojo Moyes | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was such a great read—I was completely caught up in the story, set in 1930s Kentucky. It tells of a group of women who agree to set up a traveling library—where the books are delivered via horseback—per the direction of Eleanor Roosevelt and the WPA.

What a vivid and mesmerizing tale. We are introduced to Alice, who comes from England to Kentucky after her marriage. But her union isn’t all she imagined, and she finds herself feeling trapped and alone—until she joins the library. They are led by Margery, who refuses to fit the mold of the typical Kentucky woman, much to the ire of some townspeople, including Alice’s father-in-law, who runs the local mine.

The plot is dramatic, riveting, and, honestly, stressful at times (I was so invested). I loved the idea of a tale that mixes the power of books and reading with the power of women and the fear so many had of both. You’d like to think a lot has changed since the ‘30s, but this felt rather timely sometimes... The book also speaks eloquently to the racial divide, classism, and more. I found many parts to be so touching and others very powerful. This is a book that speaks to you on a variety of levels.

Overall, this is a beautiful book, with a strong and moving message. Definitely recommend! 4+ stars.
(2)