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The Marvels (2022)
The Marvels (2022)
2022 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
9
6.1 (8 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Brie larson (1 more)
Iman verlani
Watched Sunday night even with the hate it's been getting before it came out I want to say it I loved it even if its the shortest mcu movie in a long time but it was still fun especially from the three lead ladies who for me made it for me and then theres goose of course back there's a lot to like especially theres one planet won't give away abit chessey but fun in a marvel but don't forget to stay for the post credits scenes no spoliers but set up some interesting stuff
  
Shanghai Noon (2000)
Shanghai Noon (2000)
2000 | Action, Comedy, Western
6
7.8 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Easy-going martial arts Jackie Chan/Owen Wilson (and Lucy Liu) film, with Chan portraying the party of a Chinese Forbidden City Imperial Guard soldier who travels to the Wild West of America to rescue the kidnapped Princess Pei Pei (Lucy Liu), and falls in with outlaw Roy O'Bannon (Wilson) along the way.

As a Jackie Chan film, you pretty much know what to expect: lots of martial arts slapstick in his own inimitable style (and pidgin English, which is still a lot better than my non-existent Chinese!) and a few 'that's a terrible name for a cowboy' puns along the way!
  
Heart of stone (2023)
Heart of stone (2023)
2023 | Action, Crime, Thriller
7
5.3 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Some big Action scenes (0 more)
Plot is becoming quite common (0 more)
Ok Spy Action
A decent Action film with not a lot of new ideas to it. The idea of some sort of device that can hack into anything has been covered by just about every Spy franchise going, even Fast and the Furious. The action scenes are good and it tries to add some crazy advanced tech in order to help out the main character with a visual aid. If you like these type of action films you'll like it but nothing much original to see here.
  
Tides of Fire (Sigma Force #17)
Tides of Fire (Sigma Force #17)
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Entry #17 in [author:James Rollins|38809] 'Sigma Force' novels where, I feel, it helps (maybe not essential) to have read the previous entries.

This time around, the members of Sigma Force - who I would probably best describe as scientists with guns - are in a race against time to understand, and stop, a chain of dormant volcanoes erupting off the coast of Australia: tsunami's, earthquakes, tidal waves, the lot ...

And it's all to do with something buried deep underwater ...

Enjoyable enough if, for me, not the best entry in the series.

Definite cliff-hanger for the next, though!
  
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
2015 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
The most recent of the Mad Max movies (as of early 2024) and with Tom Hardy replacing Mel Gibson in the lead role, this is essentially one long car chase movie.

And the best, IMO, since 'The Road Warrior'.

This one also stars Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa - soon to have a spin-off movie of her own (albeit recast) - with a strong argument that this is really *her* movie instead of belonging to Max Rockatansky.

It helps, of course, that a lot of the (insane) stunts are real rather than SFX - for example, the polevaulters on top of cars? Real stuntmen.
  
QS
Queen Sugar
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Charley Bordelon has just inherited 800 acres of a sugar cane farm from her father. So she uproots herself and her daughter from their life in California to Saint Josephine, Louisiana. She moves in with her grandmother, Miss Honey and tries her best to raise a successful cane farm. With other family members stepping in her way, this can prove to be difficult at times. Charley is doing the best she can, but will it be enough to keep the farm or will she be forced to sell it and head back to California.

I watched the series for this book on <a href="http://www.oprah.com/app/queen-sugar.html">OWN</a>; and I loved it. If I would have known about the book, I definitely would have read that first. They always say, the book is better than the movie, but in this case, I will say that the book was not as good as the series. The characterization is a little different and the TV series definitely added a lot more drama to the situation. Overall, though, I enjoyed the book and look forward to other books by <a href="http://nataliebaszile.com/">Natalie Baszile</a>.

Charley Bordelon has a lot on her plate. She has an adolescent daughter who hates the idea of leaving her home in California to live in a remote area of Louisiana. She has a sugar cane farm she has just inherited and she knows nothing about sugar cane. Her older brother Ralph Angel feels as though he is entitled to something, but he feels that way about everything in his life. Dealing with hurricanes, quitting farm hands, no money, and flooding back lots, there is a lot to learn and most people in the area, don't think she can do it.

The book takes you on a journey through Charley's first season of Cane Farming and all the trials and tribulations she endures during this time. I enjoyed the book and I look forward to the new season of the show coming this summer!
  
Beneath the Skin
Beneath the Skin
Caroline England | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Beneath the Skin by Caroline England, is a dark, complex domestic drama, which takes a peek into the lives of four couples whose lives are shrouded with mystery and drama just waiting to be revealed.

In this character driven story, we’re privy to what is going on surrounding four women Anotonia (Toni), Sophie, Helen, and Olivia and the secrets they keep. There is a lot going on, and although the biggest twist is at the ending, which wasn’t really a shock after all, I found myself enveloped in the journey towards it, and enjoyed seeing how their lives melded together. Especially when tragedy struck.

Originally, I found the story went at a much slower pace than I expected, and there are at first a lot of characters to get your head around. However, Caroline England has supplied a huge amount of detail to soak up, which made for a compelling read. I love it when I read a book and hear all these questions building up in my head. Why are these things were happening? What’s the real truth behind their spiteful deeds and their strange relationships? Is there something which binds them? A common interest perhaps?

None of these characters where what I’d call true friends, they were constantly throwing each other under the bus, and more like ‘friend-enemies’, which made some characters not very likeable, yet very entertaining to read about!

In addition, the book deals with a lot of sensitive issues and as the title, ‘Beneath the Skin’, would suggest, self harming is one of them. It’s woven very cleverly into the plot alongside other issues like alcoholism and abuse.

This is a perceptive book showing how manipulative and deceitful some people can be, and how actions have consequences but not necessarily for the same person. I’m looking forward to seeing what the author comes up with next book.
  
The Dumb House: (Scottish Classics)
The Dumb House: (Scottish Classics)
John Burnside | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book was nothing like what I thought it would, and for that reason, it disappointed me.

I believed this novel was going to be a creepy, man-holds-children-captive kind of story, but unfortunately it wasn’t. This was far more intelligent, with lots of complex writing than I had expected, and due to that, I couldn’t really get into it. I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed so I feel like a lot of this book went over my head.

There’s no doubt about it, our narrator is one of the most terrifying and disturbed narrators I’ve ever come across, and thanks to my love for the macabre, this made reading his story sometimes enjoyable. When he was simply recalling his actions in the here and now, I was interested, but when he got into his ramblings about his ideas on testing the innateness of language, my mind moved onto different things. Hence it taking me almost a week and a half to read 204 pages.

Burnside is an incredibly beautiful writer, it doesn’t surprise me to see he’s a poetry writer as well as a fiction writer. I’m always one to praise an author for their poetic prose, but sometimes things get a little too complex for me and all meaning is lost on me. This happened a lot throughout reading The Dumb House.

In terms of the story, this wasn’t exactly what I had hoped it would be. It was very slow to get anywhere, and even when we did get to learning his experiment on his children, that whole section was equally slow-moving. It didn’t feel like an awful lot happened other than several uncomfortable sex scenes and some horrifying violence.

Unfortunately, this one didn’t do it for me, which is a shame, because I was so looking forward to reading it. I suppose if you love intelligent fiction that is reasonably ambiguous, this might be great for you. I personally like a book that challenges my mind, but this one went too far for me.