Hazel (1853 KP) rated You Know Me Well in Books
Dec 7, 2018
David Levithan is a well-known young adult author particularly in the LGBT communities. Throughout his career he has teamed up with other authors to write contemporary fiction that explores romantic relationships and feelings between teenagers. <i>You Know Me Well</i> is the result of a collaboration between Levithan and Nina LaCour, another American YA author.
Alternating between two points of view, <i>You Know Me Well</i> is about two homosexual teenagers, Mark and Katie, who are both going through difficult times in terms of their love life. Mark is in love with his best friend, but clearly the feelings are not reciprocated. On the other hand, Katie has run away from the chance to meet the girl of her dreams. A case of being in the right place at the right time results in a great friendship blooming between the two characters. Whilst relationships are breaking down all around them as a result of their actions, Mark and Katie discover that they understand each other more than anyone else has done in the past. With each other’s help, they begin to repair or come to terms with their current situations.
Although set near San Francisco during Pride Week – a positive festival to promote the stance against discrimination toward homosexuality – Levithan and LaCour write so freely about the topic that it appears a “normal” way of life, which is ultimately what people are campaigning for. Neither of the main characters experience any judgment on account of their sexuality.
Whilst <i>You Know Me Well </i>is a deeply honest novel about coming to terms with the truth and the heartaches of love, it does not particularly work well as a story. The ending feels ambiguous leaving both Mark and Katie in very similar situations to the beginning of the book, although marginally happier. In a way this enforces the point that there are not always “happy ever after” endings, but in terms of literature it does not make much of a story.
<i>You Know Me Well </i>comes with all sorts of messages about love, coming up with plans for the future, running away from your problems etc. but it is arguably a disappointment for readers who want a fictional tale to delve into and take them away from their everyday life. The subject matter, whilst listed as young adult, is more appropriate for school leavers or college students due to the unrealistic lack of parental intervention. On the other hand, if you are already a fan of David Levithan and know what to expect in his novels, You Know Me Well should live up to your anticipations.
Connor Sheffield (293 KP) rated Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (2018) in Movies
Aug 5, 2018
Yes I was a fan of the original animated series and I'm a fan of Young Justice and they're both clearly superior animated shows, but it's nice to see something fun and childish starting your favourite characters now and then and the creators of TTG! Are DC fans as well so there's always some insanely great nods to other DC content from comics, to tv shows to Movies and more. So what's not to love?
This movie was hilarious because it's just so insane that you just have to think that the creators were high as hell when making this film. But it's easy to understand for children and has many great references to DC for the adult fans in the audience. A great soundtrack of silly songs and a great voice cast for the characters such as Will Arnett as Deathstroke and Nicholas Cage as Superman (an obvious reference to the Tim Burton Superman film that never got made that would have started Nicholas Cage as the Man of Steel himself). The humour was nothing really new compared to the tv show but they expanded upon it and seemed to drag some of the jokes out longer with some great comedic timing and a sense of "what the hell is going on!?"
Issues I had with the film was that in some parts it seemed to try a little too hard to make you laugh and it didn't always work. They tried to put in some serious messages as they do in the show but this seemed to slow down the pace all of a sudden so it wasn't smooth with the flow of the film and it just felt like it came to a sudden halt on the shenanigans and humour of the film.
The plot was pretty much obvious from the get go, but that's probably just the view as an adult. I'm sure to kids it might seem like a real movie.
But back to the good points. There was some great references to none DC content, such as the Stan Lee cameo, Starfire pointing at the Warner Brothers water tower and stating "That's where the animaniacs live" and even a reference to the Lion King which was brilliant.
Overall this was a really enjoyable movie with some flaws but I think the overall impression outweighs them, and the soundtrack is incredible ?
Kaz (232 KP) rated Pet Sematary (2019) in Movies
Jul 31, 2019 (Updated Jul 31, 2019)
Having just watched the 2019 remake, (I must point out that I haven't watched the original film) I'm not sure what to make of it.
For me, the novel 'Pet Semetary' is really dark and creepy. What this film version does, is add to that atmosphere and made it even more sinister, which I really liked.
Another good thing about this adaptation, was that it stayed pretty close to the original text, for the most part. Usually I don't like changes when a book is being made into a film, but actually, thinking about it, some of the changes in 'Pet Semetary' were wise, due to practicalities,
For example, in the novel, Gage is the one that dies and not Ellie. I would imagine the producers of this film, might have thought that it would either be too extreme to show a 2-3 year old running around with a knife and also it would be difficult to direct a child in this type of scene. So I understand why this was changed.
I thought that the acting was ok, but nothing special. I think John Lithgow was underused as Judd and actually, I thought his character was much less likable, than Judd in the book. I would give a special mention to the child actor who plays Ellie, as I thought she played her role well.
Now, let's talk about the ending. Whilst I thought the ending of the book was rather questionable, I could understand the thinking behind it. This book's general theme is grief and so Louis' decision to resurrect his wife, illustrates that his grief was so powerful, that he would do almost anything to bring his loved on,e back from the dead.
The ending to the film version though, was very disappointing. For me, Stephen King, not only writes books which satisfy a reader's enjoyment for being scared, but also has other themes and messages running through them too. So, by changing the ending to this film, it kind of took away that sad, powerful message of grief and replaced it with a conventional, 'horror film' ending. This was really disappointing for me, because by putting in that ending, it kind of demeaned everything that the book was trying to do.
This film was ok and had some positive points, but I don't think it does the original book, sufficient justice.
sList-a handy shopping list,buy,checkout,organize
Shopping and Food & Drink
App
All we go for shopping and at least once any on us prepared a shopping list on a paper or send it...
CHOMP by Christoph Niemann
Book and Education
App
"Editor´s Choice Award" by Children´s Technology Review for Excellence in Design! wired.com:...
Wörterbuch Deutsche Rechtschreibung von PONS
Reference and Education
App
The unbeatable app for German spelling with 140,000 keywords. Are you sometimes unsure how to spell...
Mastering RabbitMQ
Emrah Ayanoglu, Yusuf Aytas and Dotan Nahum
Book
Master the art of developing message-based applications with RabbitMQ About This Book * Learn how to...
Effective Birth Preparation: Your Practical Guide to a Better Birth
Book
In response to the success of the award winning "Natal Hypnotherapy CDs" and courses, founder Maggie...




