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Phil (7 KP) rated Huckleberry Finn in Books
May 23, 2017
Would be hard to meet expectations
Huckleberry Finn is a story about deciding your values. Mark Twain has a lot to say about everything, from slavery, to how we view adults vs children, to general decency. It's a great read if you want to be challenged on morality and the process of judgement and trust. It is, however, really hard to get through some conversations where half the words have to be taken on context. Being a classic of literature, I had built this up unfairly in my mind, so I had to drop the score assuming you'd do the same.
Would be perfect for anyone learning Southerner though, looking for a cheap immersion course.
Would be perfect for anyone learning Southerner though, looking for a cheap immersion course.
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated The Secret Life of Pets (2016) in Movies
Jul 19, 2017
Well written (2 more)
Voice acting
Great Animation
A fun movie for everybody
The only kind of movie that I have ever fell asleep watching in the cinema, is a kid’s movie, but there is no chance of you falling asleep during this one. Funny, witty and a lot of fun. The animation is fantastic, the voice acting is on point and if you are a pet owner the whole thing becomes more relatable and even funnier. This is how to make a great kids film, it doesn’t just totally appeal to the kids and ignore the adults watching, but it is also totally family friendly and the characters are all well written, well voiced and they all bounce off of each other very well to make probably the best kids movie I’ve seen this year.
Verner Latskin (74 KP) rated Drive (2011) in Movies
Jul 21, 2017
The performances are universally strong (4 more)
Stylish, patient direction
Understated when most films would go big
Unlike "Baby Driver", which has many similarities with this film, the central relationship is never suggested to be anything more than some casual relationship that gives the main character a chance at redemption
Carey Mulligan is as luminous as ever
It's about as deep as a puddle in a parking lot (1 more)
It is generally very overrated
A good, yet unacknowledged, remake of "The Driver"
Well, it's a remake of Walter Hill's "The Driver". Not officially, sure, but it just is. It annoys me that this was never really acknowledged, but it's a good one, so there's that.
Otherwise, it's a flimsy, but good little crime thriller that's generally overrated. Shouldn't stop anyone from seeing it though.
Otherwise, it's a flimsy, but good little crime thriller that's generally overrated. Shouldn't stop anyone from seeing it though.
Dean (6927 KP) rated Nerve (2016) in Movies
Aug 24, 2017 (Updated Aug 19, 2018)
Emma Roberts (1 more)
Good cinematography
Are you a Watcher or Player?
A cool, fun, sexy and visually slick thriller. I hadn't heard much about this before seeing it but found it very enjoyable. It's a new spin on the truth or dare game, this time with the Internet community choosing to be a Watcher or Player. People film themselves doing a few dares as watchers pay them to complete the dare. Soon though the dares escalate and become very dangerous.
I like the visual style of the film, bathed in neon light a lot of the time, which makes it feel more like a game. Also makes a slight point about how people behave online compared to real life. Overall not that original but still an entertaining film nevertheless.
I like the visual style of the film, bathed in neon light a lot of the time, which makes it feel more like a game. Also makes a slight point about how people behave online compared to real life. Overall not that original but still an entertaining film nevertheless.
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Get Your Sh*t Together in Books
Sep 18, 2017
Not accessible, geared for certain audiences
I have to say I struggled to read this. Sarah Knight obviously comes from a very privileged background and gears her rhetoric to certain socio-economic classes. While at times she attempts humour, it falls a little flat as it sounds like she's trying too hard.
That being said, some of the advice is useful such as time management and prioritizing - however this sounds like a lot of other self help books and she doesn't seem like the 'anti-guru' she claims to be. It's a little pretentious, constantly talking about her Caribbean housing, when many don't even have disposable income.
She briefly mentions half way through that this book is not intended for such working-class people. That should have been at the front of the book.
That being said, some of the advice is useful such as time management and prioritizing - however this sounds like a lot of other self help books and she doesn't seem like the 'anti-guru' she claims to be. It's a little pretentious, constantly talking about her Caribbean housing, when many don't even have disposable income.
She briefly mentions half way through that this book is not intended for such working-class people. That should have been at the front of the book.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated The Art of Slip-Stitch Knitting in Books
Apr 27, 2018
I know very little about slip stitch. Looking through this book I was impressed. there were a lot of stitch patterns and stitches I’ve never heard of before.
Everything about this book was artistic and well designed. From the photography of the knitted items to the type face and layout of the text.
The patterns themselves were awesome. Normally when I look through a book I tend to like some or most of the patterns. This book, I like all of them. Not only were they elegant, interesting, and unique, some of them were really pushing the boundaries of what you can do with stitch patterns and construction.
This is definitely more of an advanced book. But if you’re looking for something new, exciting, stunning, and challenging, this is the book for you.
Everything about this book was artistic and well designed. From the photography of the knitted items to the type face and layout of the text.
The patterns themselves were awesome. Normally when I look through a book I tend to like some or most of the patterns. This book, I like all of them. Not only were they elegant, interesting, and unique, some of them were really pushing the boundaries of what you can do with stitch patterns and construction.
This is definitely more of an advanced book. But if you’re looking for something new, exciting, stunning, and challenging, this is the book for you.
Erika (17789 KP) rated Mission: Impossible (1996) in Movies
May 13, 2018
Disclaimer: I hadn't seen this movie prior to watching it this evening. Maybe I saw pieces of it at some point, but not all of it. The only MI film I'd watched (in full) prior to this was the last one.
This film was predictable to me, though, to be fair, a lot of films have copied it, so I'm sure if I'd have seen it when it initially came out, I may have been surprised.
Some of the action scenes weren't completely believable, and the visual fx were very strange looking on bluray. Paramount should probably get around to remastering these here pretty soon.
The one scene I was impressed with was the whole hanging in the safe in Langley. It's also the scene that's been mimicked in other films the most.
This film was predictable to me, though, to be fair, a lot of films have copied it, so I'm sure if I'd have seen it when it initially came out, I may have been surprised.
Some of the action scenes weren't completely believable, and the visual fx were very strange looking on bluray. Paramount should probably get around to remastering these here pretty soon.
The one scene I was impressed with was the whole hanging in the safe in Langley. It's also the scene that's been mimicked in other films the most.
ClareR (5869 KP) rated My Mother’s Secret in Books
May 13, 2018 (Updated May 13, 2018)
Lizzie Bradshaw witnessed a terrible crime and had to pay the ultimate price. Emma Taylor has a terrible secret that she seems to have hidden even from herself. Stella Taylor, Emma’s teenaged daughter, knows that something is going on with her mum.
This is such a good story with lots of twists and turns. It’s quite sad, really. Even when you think everything is going to be all right, well, it’s not.
I didn’t see the end coming at all!!
Kay writes teenagers really well: how confused they are, and ultimately, vulnerable. Speaking of vulnerability, Emma is a sad character who clearly has a lot of issues.
A very entertaining story.
Thanks to The Pigeonhole for their serialisations of this book, and the publisher Corvus for making it available!
This is such a good story with lots of twists and turns. It’s quite sad, really. Even when you think everything is going to be all right, well, it’s not.
I didn’t see the end coming at all!!
Kay writes teenagers really well: how confused they are, and ultimately, vulnerable. Speaking of vulnerability, Emma is a sad character who clearly has a lot of issues.
A very entertaining story.
Thanks to The Pigeonhole for their serialisations of this book, and the publisher Corvus for making it available!
Chelsea (166 KP) rated Two Girls Down: A Novel in Books
May 3, 2018
Alice Vega is a basically professional head hunter and, when hired to find two young girls who vanished from a Kmart parking lot, enlists the help of a local retired cop turned private investigator, Max Caplan or “Cap”.
The POV goes back and forth between Alice and Cap, which I really enjoyed. Alice is sort of mysterious and keeps a cool head, not showing many emotions to others, but the reader gets to feel what she’s really feeling. Though divorced, Cap is a family man and I loved his relationship with his daughter. Both were determined to find these girls and would do whatever it took. There was also a little romantic tension between Cap and Vega, but then at the end nothing came of it, which was pretty disappointing. Overall a good read!
The POV goes back and forth between Alice and Cap, which I really enjoyed. Alice is sort of mysterious and keeps a cool head, not showing many emotions to others, but the reader gets to feel what she’s really feeling. Though divorced, Cap is a family man and I loved his relationship with his daughter. Both were determined to find these girls and would do whatever it took. There was also a little romantic tension between Cap and Vega, but then at the end nothing came of it, which was pretty disappointing. Overall a good read!
Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated 12th of Never (Women's Murder Club, #12) in Books
May 10, 2018
I am a huge fan of James Patterson. The Women's Murder Club is my favorite series. This book did not disappoint at all.
This time, Lindsay Boxer is having a baby. She and Joe Molinari successfully got married in the last book and now baby makes three. Lindsay is just getting back to work and boy does she have her hands full. A body has been stolen from the ME's office. An old case she helped the FBI on has resurfaced and there is a professor who is dreaming about murders before they happen.
All of this is a lot for a regular cop to handle, but add in the emotions of just having a baby and trying to catch a killer and will Lindsay be able to handle it all.
This time, Lindsay Boxer is having a baby. She and Joe Molinari successfully got married in the last book and now baby makes three. Lindsay is just getting back to work and boy does she have her hands full. A body has been stolen from the ME's office. An old case she helped the FBI on has resurfaced and there is a professor who is dreaming about murders before they happen.
All of this is a lot for a regular cop to handle, but add in the emotions of just having a baby and trying to catch a killer and will Lindsay be able to handle it all.