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Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated The Men Who Stare at Goats in Books
Jul 24, 2017
Truth is stranger than fiction
While a lot of readers may find this conspiratorial, it is actually bizarrely captivating and incredible to listen to. Some of the areas explored borders on bonkers, but actually much of it is true. Around 75 per cent of the time, it is absolutely hilarious, but there poses a genuine concern about what our intelligence agencies are doing outside of public knowledge.
Having read Jon Ronson's works before, it hardly comes as a surprise that he has managed to infiltrate such an eccentric part of the US military. I only wish each idea was more carefully investigated rather than feeling like Alice tumbling down a rabbit hole. Thoroughly enjoyable nevertheless.
Having read Jon Ronson's works before, it hardly comes as a surprise that he has managed to infiltrate such an eccentric part of the US military. I only wish each idea was more carefully investigated rather than feeling like Alice tumbling down a rabbit hole. Thoroughly enjoyable nevertheless.
Chris Hooker (419 KP) rated The Big Burn in Books
Jan 12, 2018
[The Big Burn] by [Jeanette Ingold] is an excellently written historical fiction that deals with an interesting topic. The plot is focused around three young people: Elizabeth, a homesteader with her sister, Jarret, a fire fighter, and Seth, and African American soldier. The even that brings them all together is the forest fires of 1910 in Idaho and Montana know as the Big Burn.
[Ingold] tells a fast moving tale through the various perspectives of those involved. The fact that she chose very different characters but remained historically accurate says a lot about the skill of the author. This book is a welcome addition to any classroom library, especially for those reluctant readers.
[Ingold] tells a fast moving tale through the various perspectives of those involved. The fact that she chose very different characters but remained historically accurate says a lot about the skill of the author. This book is a welcome addition to any classroom library, especially for those reluctant readers.
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Deepwater Horizon (2016) in Movies
Jul 26, 2017
Stunts (1 more)
Practical Fire Effects and Explosions
Through The Fire And Flames
Stunning and tragic, Deepwater Horizon tells the story of the men on the oil rig that became the catalyst for the BP oil spill, one of the worst man made disasters in recent memory. Wahlberg, Russell and Malkovich are all great in their respective roles, but for me this film was slightly overrated. There was a lot of Oscar buzz surrounding it at the time of release and while I am a fan of Wahlberg, I don't see what he did in this movie to constitute the vast amount of praise he received. It is still a good movie and well made technically as well.
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Based on a True Story in Books
Jul 27, 2017
A clever psychological thriller
How many books do you trust to be actually based on reality and are non fiction books completely factual? These are some of the questions that arise in this descriptive, slick psychological thriller. It follows the journey of a novelist with writer's block who seems to have been befriended by a woman who takes a lot of interest in her. The woman is enigmatic and secretive and who knows how much of her is real. It is written in the perspective of the writer and so it shows in detail how her mind unravels and is manipulated.
It leaves you pondering whether the protagonist actually imagined the entire thing?
It leaves you pondering whether the protagonist actually imagined the entire thing?
Niten. NR (75 KP) rated Ronin (1998) in Movies
Jul 28, 2017
Robert De Niro (2 more)
Jean Reno
Awesome script.
Serious underworld thriller
Ronin is a mysterious and serious crime type thriller which takes the viewers into the arena of the crime underworld. An seemingly ex CIA agent named Sam (De Niro) throws his lot in with a group brought together by an Irish Terrorist played by Natascha McElhone. Their task is to steal a suitcase from a dangerous Russian gang. Unfortunately not all goes to plan. There are two great stand out performances by De Niro and Jean Reno but, I thought McElhone and Sean Bean were very good also. There is great action and an especially fast car scene that has Sean Bean spill his lunch. An excellent film.
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Room (2015) in Movies
Aug 13, 2017
Great adaptation of the book, incredibly sad
Having just finished reading the book, it's interesting to see the vast differences between the film version and the novel. It is a harrowing tale of a mother being locked up in a shed for seven years by a predator, during which time she gives birth to a son. At five they make a daring escape, and the story is in the perspective of the little boy seeing the world for the first time. The film does a good job of adapting it to the screen, which means they've shortened the story and changed quite a lot of details to avoid it becoming overly long. Still a tremendous watch.
Ross (3284 KP) rated The Scarab Path in Books
Sep 13, 2017
For me, this episode in the Shadows of the Apt series was a real struggle. From a fairly slow, crawl of an opening it barely got moving until the last hundred pages or so. This book is key to the overall series but it really felt like a chore reading it. Che's character development in this book installs her as one of the most important characters in the series, and her link to the new Empress sets up a lot of the conflict to come, but it just felt so dragged out.
A must-read if one is to appreciate the whole series but from a fairly first 4 books this was a definite low.
A must-read if one is to appreciate the whole series but from a fairly first 4 books this was a definite low.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Know Your Beholder in Books
Apr 27, 2018
I got halfway through Know your Beholder before I quit. I still wouldn’t be able to tell you what it was about. It’s really too bad, to. I only had one problem with it.
It was like a lot of things happened, but nothing actually happened. There was no plot, just a bunch of events strung together with lyric, hilarious, over thesaurus-ized sentences. The writing itself was great and it was what kept me listening past the first track, but when I was halfway through and I still wasn’t sure what was going on, and I didn’t like the main character any more than I did when it started, I opted to spend my time on something else.
It was like a lot of things happened, but nothing actually happened. There was no plot, just a bunch of events strung together with lyric, hilarious, over thesaurus-ized sentences. The writing itself was great and it was what kept me listening past the first track, but when I was halfway through and I still wasn’t sure what was going on, and I didn’t like the main character any more than I did when it started, I opted to spend my time on something else.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Healing Touch: Essential Energy Medicine for Yourself and Others in Books
Apr 27, 2018
This book was really interesting, and I enjoyed reading it. I had trouble reading some of the history stuff (but that's probably because I just don't have a lot of patience). I kept thinking "okay, I believe you, now show me how!
The instructions were rather clear, but I would have liked more drawings. I felt like the whole book was history and information--which is important--but that only a little bit of it was actually instructional. It would have been easier to read it if the information had been better mixed in to the instructional.
On a side-note, as a sci-fi/fantasy writer, this book makes an excellent inspiration/source for writing about the supernatural!
The instructions were rather clear, but I would have liked more drawings. I felt like the whole book was history and information--which is important--but that only a little bit of it was actually instructional. It would have been easier to read it if the information had been better mixed in to the instructional.
On a side-note, as a sci-fi/fantasy writer, this book makes an excellent inspiration/source for writing about the supernatural!
Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated The Vow in Books
May 10, 2018
Three friends vow at another friend's wedding that they are going to find husbands within the next year. Women like Trista, Amaya, and Vivian don't come around a lot, so any man would be lucky to have them. Trista, the Hollywood agent, who is accomplishing everything she set out to do. Amaya, emerging actress who wants just one man, problem: he's married. And Vivian, she has been pining over her baby daddy since the moment she met him, if only she could get him to return the feelings instead of just meeting up for "ex-sex". Will the women be able to accomplish The Vow, or are they meant for other things.