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Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated Eden Summer in Books
Jun 24, 2019
I keep falling behind on wiring my reviews, sorry! I really need to get back on track. I finished this on Tuesday I think? I really enjoyed it, although it isn't quite worthy of five stars.
I'm going to put in a trigger warning as there are mentions of substance abuse, physical abuse, death, adoption and suicide.
Jess's best friend has gone missing. Through interviews with the police and Jess's personal recollections, we begin to build up a picture of Eden's life before her disappearance. Her sister had recently been killed in a car accident, and her seemingly perfect relationship with Liam was more complicated than anyone realised. Bit by bit, Jess - and we - begin to piece things together and discover where Eden has gone.
The girls are only young - 15 I think? - and very much have the all-consuming passion that young teens feel. As in, every little issue feels huge, and things feel far more serious than they might to an older person. I remember feeling this way. I think it was portrayed so accurately, the way fighting with your best friend feels like the end of the world and a family argument overwhelms you with guilt. It was a bit annoying in some ways, though; no fault of the author, of course, I just get a bit annoyed at kids taking things too seriously. I look back at myself and think how stupid it was to get so caught up in such little issues. So the things that Jess gets so worked up over just seemed a bit trivial to me, like she was exaggerating too much. But as I said, this creates the teenage voice really well in my opinion.
The things that both these girls have gone through are massive, though - Jess was attacked and Eden's sister killed. That's pretty hard for a young girl to deal with, and these are not the problems I'm saying are trivial. These are hugely important and emotional issues and I think it's great to talk about. I love books with these real, albeit sad, events. I think it is so good to discuss all the feelings and situations that follow, and also emphasise how it is not the end of the world if something bad happens. life will continue. Eden says how she feels her sister's death becoming more distant, more bearable, and how she doesn't want that to happen. She feels guilty, as if she's forgetting her and moving on. This is so important. She also thinks about killing herself due to guilt - which I won't ruin too much - but then realises how she shouldn't take life for granted. Her sister would've given anything to be alive still, and she shouldn't be throwing that away.
It was a really good read and I found myself wondering what was going to be revealed next. It was wel written and perfectly captured the young voice of Jess. If I read this when I was younger, I think I would've adored it. I would've understood it and connected to Jess more than I did now I'm older. 4 stars, definitely worth a read.
I'm going to put in a trigger warning as there are mentions of substance abuse, physical abuse, death, adoption and suicide.
Jess's best friend has gone missing. Through interviews with the police and Jess's personal recollections, we begin to build up a picture of Eden's life before her disappearance. Her sister had recently been killed in a car accident, and her seemingly perfect relationship with Liam was more complicated than anyone realised. Bit by bit, Jess - and we - begin to piece things together and discover where Eden has gone.
The girls are only young - 15 I think? - and very much have the all-consuming passion that young teens feel. As in, every little issue feels huge, and things feel far more serious than they might to an older person. I remember feeling this way. I think it was portrayed so accurately, the way fighting with your best friend feels like the end of the world and a family argument overwhelms you with guilt. It was a bit annoying in some ways, though; no fault of the author, of course, I just get a bit annoyed at kids taking things too seriously. I look back at myself and think how stupid it was to get so caught up in such little issues. So the things that Jess gets so worked up over just seemed a bit trivial to me, like she was exaggerating too much. But as I said, this creates the teenage voice really well in my opinion.
The things that both these girls have gone through are massive, though - Jess was attacked and Eden's sister killed. That's pretty hard for a young girl to deal with, and these are not the problems I'm saying are trivial. These are hugely important and emotional issues and I think it's great to talk about. I love books with these real, albeit sad, events. I think it is so good to discuss all the feelings and situations that follow, and also emphasise how it is not the end of the world if something bad happens. life will continue. Eden says how she feels her sister's death becoming more distant, more bearable, and how she doesn't want that to happen. She feels guilty, as if she's forgetting her and moving on. This is so important. She also thinks about killing herself due to guilt - which I won't ruin too much - but then realises how she shouldn't take life for granted. Her sister would've given anything to be alive still, and she shouldn't be throwing that away.
It was a really good read and I found myself wondering what was going to be revealed next. It was wel written and perfectly captured the young voice of Jess. If I read this when I was younger, I think I would've adored it. I would've understood it and connected to Jess more than I did now I'm older. 4 stars, definitely worth a read.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Buffalo '66 (1998) in Movies
Sep 26, 2019
Characters – Billy Brown has just been released from prison, he has had his own problems which led to him being in prison and it isn’t long before he goes to the extremes to impress his family. He is painted as an aggressive man that believes that woman are just objects and has built his world in lies. Layla is the tap dancer that gets kidnapped, she starts to play along with what Billy wants and even enjoy his company the more time they spend together. Jimmy and Jan are his parents that have both been either distracted or strict in raising Billy, as he wants to impress them now. The Bookie is the man that put Billy in jail as a result of the debts he owed him, he gave him a choice with jail being the only one that didn’t hurt anyone.
Performances – Vincent Gallo doesn’t bring us a very interesting character, it isn’t written well or directed to make us interested in him, he just can’t make this character work. Christina Ricci was trying to break out of the child star roles by now, this is different to what we had seen before, though she does look bored through the film. the rest of the cast struggle too, it is just poorly written to give the actors a chance.
Story – The story follows a gambler that had paid the price for his addiction and now is free, he wants revenge only he spends the time with his kidnap victim as we get to see the difficult life he has had which led him to the life of crime. Well I think that is what we are meant to be seeing, the story does drag along at an awfully slow pace with nothing much happening, trying to make us believe the two could be falling in love, though he is abusive with his actions and spends more time running around looking for a toilet than showing any sort of emotion.
Comedy/Crime/Romance – If this is meant to be a comedy, the jokes miss big time as you will struggle to get a laugh out of this film, while the crime only seems to focus on the kidnapping, which she could have escaped from with ease plenty of times, so that never feels like a threat, the romance just feels awkward for the most part of the film because there is zero chemistry between the two.
Settings – The film is set in the Buffalo area, which is meant to be about the passion of the locals, it could easily be any town with a big American football team.
Scene of the Movie – The first look at the dinner table makes it a clever shot, until it gets boring.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We spend more time looking for a toilet.
Final Thoughts – This is just a dreadfully dull movie that has no direction in anyway, it fails to capture any attention from the audience with a truly unlikeable main character.
Overall: Dreadfully boring.
Performances – Vincent Gallo doesn’t bring us a very interesting character, it isn’t written well or directed to make us interested in him, he just can’t make this character work. Christina Ricci was trying to break out of the child star roles by now, this is different to what we had seen before, though she does look bored through the film. the rest of the cast struggle too, it is just poorly written to give the actors a chance.
Story – The story follows a gambler that had paid the price for his addiction and now is free, he wants revenge only he spends the time with his kidnap victim as we get to see the difficult life he has had which led him to the life of crime. Well I think that is what we are meant to be seeing, the story does drag along at an awfully slow pace with nothing much happening, trying to make us believe the two could be falling in love, though he is abusive with his actions and spends more time running around looking for a toilet than showing any sort of emotion.
Comedy/Crime/Romance – If this is meant to be a comedy, the jokes miss big time as you will struggle to get a laugh out of this film, while the crime only seems to focus on the kidnapping, which she could have escaped from with ease plenty of times, so that never feels like a threat, the romance just feels awkward for the most part of the film because there is zero chemistry between the two.
Settings – The film is set in the Buffalo area, which is meant to be about the passion of the locals, it could easily be any town with a big American football team.
Scene of the Movie – The first look at the dinner table makes it a clever shot, until it gets boring.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We spend more time looking for a toilet.
Final Thoughts – This is just a dreadfully dull movie that has no direction in anyway, it fails to capture any attention from the audience with a truly unlikeable main character.
Overall: Dreadfully boring.
The Halloween Oracle
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10.0
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Debbiereadsbook (1839 KP) rated The Victorian (Lavender Shores #9) in Books
Feb 4, 2019
totally surprised by this one! Loved it!
This is book 9 in the Lavender Shores series and I *think* Seth pops up in every one! You don't need to have read the other books, before this one, but I think you should. They are all 4 and 5 star reads from me, bar one.
We met Seth right at the beginning of book one, The Palisade. I thought it was chapter one, but it is in chapter two he makes his first appearance. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad he got his own story, he deserved it!
Seth runs the B and B and Charley has a restaurant in town. They have history, a deep sated hatred of each other that Seth knows not from whence it came. Charley does though. When they are thrown together for a food and drink festival, sparks fly. But sparks is far too tame a word for what Seth and Charley begin to feel for each other. Each man has his demons, and those demons need banishing before they can admit who they really want.
There is an . . . incident . . . at the beginning, though, before all of this and I'm not saying what. It's kinda thrown at them by someone else and I think it was a bit unfair. It does, however, give Seth and Charley a taste of what could be between them, should they want. And they DO want, that much is obvious, even with the tempers between them!
So much passion between these two, it jumps off the page right from that incident (but again, far too tame a word for what happens!) Not just the anger between, or rather from Charley, but the connection that keeps pulling them together. And when Seth sees Charley, I mean really SEES why Charley is so angry all the time? Oh! Seth is just . . ..oh!
I cried a lot for these two. I wasn't expecting any of this, because there was no indication that this was coming! Or at least, I never picked up on it! There was not a single point along the way, in any of the other 8 books, that I can pick up and say ""oh yeah, that story is gonna be good!" And I was going to comment that this was a negative, but actually, I'm GLAD I did not see this one coming, I really am. I'm GLAD I did not see Seth's story unfolding because it might have taken away the surprise out of this story and it's the SURPRISE part that MAKES this book!
So many surprises, and I'm not pointing them out cos of spoilers, but I did NOT see any of them coming at me, and I am so freaking glad I didn't!
There is another story planned, I believe, about the instigator of that *Incident * I don't want to be too hard on him, because he really did think he was helping, but I truly hope he is sorry for the way he went about it, rather than what he did.
This book carries some darker moments, both for Seth and Charley and some readers may find it difficult. I did, because they both have difficult pasts.
But so bloody good! I read it in one sitting, after 6 days straight at work, two back to back 14 hour shifts, starting it at 10pm and did not stop til I ran out of book! And it ain't a short one either, some 330 pages!
So, 5 bloody amazing stars!
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
We met Seth right at the beginning of book one, The Palisade. I thought it was chapter one, but it is in chapter two he makes his first appearance. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad he got his own story, he deserved it!
Seth runs the B and B and Charley has a restaurant in town. They have history, a deep sated hatred of each other that Seth knows not from whence it came. Charley does though. When they are thrown together for a food and drink festival, sparks fly. But sparks is far too tame a word for what Seth and Charley begin to feel for each other. Each man has his demons, and those demons need banishing before they can admit who they really want.
There is an . . . incident . . . at the beginning, though, before all of this and I'm not saying what. It's kinda thrown at them by someone else and I think it was a bit unfair. It does, however, give Seth and Charley a taste of what could be between them, should they want. And they DO want, that much is obvious, even with the tempers between them!
So much passion between these two, it jumps off the page right from that incident (but again, far too tame a word for what happens!) Not just the anger between, or rather from Charley, but the connection that keeps pulling them together. And when Seth sees Charley, I mean really SEES why Charley is so angry all the time? Oh! Seth is just . . ..oh!
I cried a lot for these two. I wasn't expecting any of this, because there was no indication that this was coming! Or at least, I never picked up on it! There was not a single point along the way, in any of the other 8 books, that I can pick up and say ""oh yeah, that story is gonna be good!" And I was going to comment that this was a negative, but actually, I'm GLAD I did not see this one coming, I really am. I'm GLAD I did not see Seth's story unfolding because it might have taken away the surprise out of this story and it's the SURPRISE part that MAKES this book!
So many surprises, and I'm not pointing them out cos of spoilers, but I did NOT see any of them coming at me, and I am so freaking glad I didn't!
There is another story planned, I believe, about the instigator of that *Incident * I don't want to be too hard on him, because he really did think he was helping, but I truly hope he is sorry for the way he went about it, rather than what he did.
This book carries some darker moments, both for Seth and Charley and some readers may find it difficult. I did, because they both have difficult pasts.
But so bloody good! I read it in one sitting, after 6 days straight at work, two back to back 14 hour shifts, starting it at 10pm and did not stop til I ran out of book! And it ain't a short one either, some 330 pages!
So, 5 bloody amazing stars!
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) in Movies
Feb 21, 2019
Solid Gold Movie
Chaos ensues when a bunch or salesman at a real estate agency are forced into a high-stakes game where they either become top closers or get fired.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 10
You think the beginning is going to be weak…until Blake (Alec Baldwin) walks in. He is filled with such passion and rage, but the one thing he is lacking is fucks. Blake has zero fucks to give about anyone’s feelings or their jobs. “Fuck you, that’s my name!” he screams at someone thinking they will get the upperhand on him. Classic.
Characters: 10
Aside from Blake, the rest of the characters add depth to the movie. With their different personalities, each character has a distinctly different approach to the way that they sell and go about winning. Their choices and reactions hold sway over which direction the movie turns and what the audience thinks is going to happen next. As things unfold and they end up being questioned by the Detective (Jude Ciccolella), it’s interesting to watch them have different responses to the pressure.
Cinematography/Visuals: 9
I love the cinematic work here. The entire film has a dreary feel, almost like there’s a fog being cast over the characters and their dilemma. The light comes in small glimpses and you mostly see rain throughout. It has a suffocating feel, adding even more certainty that the characters are resigned to their own fate.
Conflict: 10
Look, I’m in sales and few things institute conflict like sales situations. Tell a bunch of guys that they either hit their numbers or they’re fired and there’s bound to be problems. As the film drags on, the desperation becomes even heavier. You feel for these guys, but not so much so that you don’t get the enjoyment of watching them crumble in high pressure situations. As douchey as it sounds, it’s actually kind of fun.
Genre: 7
Memorability: 7
Pace: 10
Once Blake enters the scene, the movie maintains its pace from start to finish. Fueled by conflict and desperation, the characters ultimately create a mystery that you want to get to the bottom of before the movie reaches its end. It’s refreshing when you watch a movie that doesn’t have any dead spots and director James Foley succeeded in making that a reality.
Plot: 10
What happens when you put a bunch of different personalities in a room and tell them they have a certain amount of time to complete a goal or else? The story is ultimately moved by how people respond to pressure situations. I can imagine when this was written, the direction may have changed directions a couple of times due to the personalities of the characters. Memorable characters can alter the direction of a plot for the sake of staying true to the characters.
Resolution: 4
Overall: 87
I hadn’t even heard of this movie until a couple of years ago. It’s funny, this movie was recommended to me by a Sales Manager who thought, “This is how the sales team should go after it!” After watching it, I thought, “This isn’t how selling should be at all!” Glengarry Glen Ross succeeds because it appeals to people for different reasons. Some see it as a cautionary tale while others view it as inspiration. I am in the camp of the former. I’m also in the popular majority that think the movie is awesome.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 10
You think the beginning is going to be weak…until Blake (Alec Baldwin) walks in. He is filled with such passion and rage, but the one thing he is lacking is fucks. Blake has zero fucks to give about anyone’s feelings or their jobs. “Fuck you, that’s my name!” he screams at someone thinking they will get the upperhand on him. Classic.
Characters: 10
Aside from Blake, the rest of the characters add depth to the movie. With their different personalities, each character has a distinctly different approach to the way that they sell and go about winning. Their choices and reactions hold sway over which direction the movie turns and what the audience thinks is going to happen next. As things unfold and they end up being questioned by the Detective (Jude Ciccolella), it’s interesting to watch them have different responses to the pressure.
Cinematography/Visuals: 9
I love the cinematic work here. The entire film has a dreary feel, almost like there’s a fog being cast over the characters and their dilemma. The light comes in small glimpses and you mostly see rain throughout. It has a suffocating feel, adding even more certainty that the characters are resigned to their own fate.
Conflict: 10
Look, I’m in sales and few things institute conflict like sales situations. Tell a bunch of guys that they either hit their numbers or they’re fired and there’s bound to be problems. As the film drags on, the desperation becomes even heavier. You feel for these guys, but not so much so that you don’t get the enjoyment of watching them crumble in high pressure situations. As douchey as it sounds, it’s actually kind of fun.
Genre: 7
Memorability: 7
Pace: 10
Once Blake enters the scene, the movie maintains its pace from start to finish. Fueled by conflict and desperation, the characters ultimately create a mystery that you want to get to the bottom of before the movie reaches its end. It’s refreshing when you watch a movie that doesn’t have any dead spots and director James Foley succeeded in making that a reality.
Plot: 10
What happens when you put a bunch of different personalities in a room and tell them they have a certain amount of time to complete a goal or else? The story is ultimately moved by how people respond to pressure situations. I can imagine when this was written, the direction may have changed directions a couple of times due to the personalities of the characters. Memorable characters can alter the direction of a plot for the sake of staying true to the characters.
Resolution: 4
Overall: 87
I hadn’t even heard of this movie until a couple of years ago. It’s funny, this movie was recommended to me by a Sales Manager who thought, “This is how the sales team should go after it!” After watching it, I thought, “This isn’t how selling should be at all!” Glengarry Glen Ross succeeds because it appeals to people for different reasons. Some see it as a cautionary tale while others view it as inspiration. I am in the camp of the former. I’m also in the popular majority that think the movie is awesome.
