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Don't Try This at Home
1.0
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A girl repeatedly chops her boyfriend in half but, while her 'other half' multiplies, she is still...
A Hopeless Romantic
8.5
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Laura Foster is a hopeless romantic. It is her most endearing characteristic, yet consistently leads...
What's not to like (other than the casual prejudice)?
Contains spoilers, click to show
Okay, so I am one of those people who definitely saw the film before I read the book (and having now done the background reading I am even more impressed with Gilliam’s direction which uses some seriously creative camera angles to replicate the constantly expanding and contracting drug dependent points of view).
Whilst I understand that America’s post counter-culture, folksy racism/ misogyny/ homophobia [insert prejudice here] is subject to criticism by the author, there was more than one occasion where I found the discriminatory language jarringly unnecessary. It really dates the piece.
That said, on the whole, this is a really excellent read, and I was in equal parts disgusted and amused by the antics, and found myself (to some degree of shame) identifying with some of the scrapes and situations the Doctor of Journalism and his legal crony got themselves into- I mean who hasn’t found a casualty or two in their bathrooms following an impromptu house party? (Although I do wonder how events might read to those who avoided misspending their youth...)
It’s a short, pithy searing indictment of American culture, society and the tacit implication (or actually come to think of it- pretty explicit statement) that substance abuse is the only way to deal with and make sense of the chaos. So, one could argue, still pretty relevant.
Violence is frequently a first recourse, the idealisation of capitalism is metaphorically “burned to the ground” (yet antithetically also a cause for admiration) and towards the end a primate bites into an old man’s skull. What’s not to like?
Whilst I understand that America’s post counter-culture, folksy racism/ misogyny/ homophobia [insert prejudice here] is subject to criticism by the author, there was more than one occasion where I found the discriminatory language jarringly unnecessary. It really dates the piece.
That said, on the whole, this is a really excellent read, and I was in equal parts disgusted and amused by the antics, and found myself (to some degree of shame) identifying with some of the scrapes and situations the Doctor of Journalism and his legal crony got themselves into- I mean who hasn’t found a casualty or two in their bathrooms following an impromptu house party? (Although I do wonder how events might read to those who avoided misspending their youth...)
It’s a short, pithy searing indictment of American culture, society and the tacit implication (or actually come to think of it- pretty explicit statement) that substance abuse is the only way to deal with and make sense of the chaos. So, one could argue, still pretty relevant.
Violence is frequently a first recourse, the idealisation of capitalism is metaphorically “burned to the ground” (yet antithetically also a cause for admiration) and towards the end a primate bites into an old man’s skull. What’s not to like?
Ross (3284 KP) rated Just Mercy (2019) in Movies
Jun 15, 2020
Superb legal drama
A very topical film at the moment, telling the true story of a man ending up on death row after a dubious murder trial with negligible evidence weighed up against copious amounts of evidence of his innocence. As usual, it is the story of the police and DA being under pressure to convict someone of the crime and finding an easy target.
Jordan plays young lawyer Bryan Stevenson who moves to Alabama to fight for justice for death row convicts. Among many cases he meets Jonny D (Foxx), who initially refuses to fight any more despite the paper-thin conviction he received. Persuaded, the pair start their fight against the system, met time and time again with prejudice, injustice and an unfair system that is unwilling to review past cases.
The irony of this unfolding in the town that is so proud to have been where Harper Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, the story of a black man facing an unfair trial accused of crime against a young white female, was not lost on me. This wasn't made much of in the film, I would guess out of respect for the family of the actual murder victim here, and not wanting to suggest a parallel with the false crime in the book.
The film does well to portray the racial injustice, unbalanced legal system and prejudice experienced by the authorities and smalltown America, but not overdo it. This leaves the viewer to mull it on their own, which is especially important to do in the current climate.
An excellent film that gets the balance right between story, faithfulness to the facts and sewing thoughts and parallels with modern day life.
Jordan plays young lawyer Bryan Stevenson who moves to Alabama to fight for justice for death row convicts. Among many cases he meets Jonny D (Foxx), who initially refuses to fight any more despite the paper-thin conviction he received. Persuaded, the pair start their fight against the system, met time and time again with prejudice, injustice and an unfair system that is unwilling to review past cases.
The irony of this unfolding in the town that is so proud to have been where Harper Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, the story of a black man facing an unfair trial accused of crime against a young white female, was not lost on me. This wasn't made much of in the film, I would guess out of respect for the family of the actual murder victim here, and not wanting to suggest a parallel with the false crime in the book.
The film does well to portray the racial injustice, unbalanced legal system and prejudice experienced by the authorities and smalltown America, but not overdo it. This leaves the viewer to mull it on their own, which is especially important to do in the current climate.
An excellent film that gets the balance right between story, faithfulness to the facts and sewing thoughts and parallels with modern day life.
Trials of the Diaspora: A History of Anti-semitism in England
Book
Trials of the Diaspora presents the long and troubling history of anti-Semitism in England, from the...
Merissa (11928 KP) rated A Tale of Two Kingdoms (Knights of Black Swan #6) in Books
Apr 3, 2023 (Updated Apr 10, 2023)
The story of star-crossed lovers has been around for a while and if asked, most people would say that Romeo & Juliet is the most famous one. Well think again because Duff and Aelsong are about to take that crown! This story has been a long time coming as we met Duff and Aelsong in Book 2 (The Witch's Dream) but it is well worth the wait. Duff has decided that he has waited long enough and makes a plan to ensure that he and Aelsong are together. He enlists the help of some friends, new and old and along the way you get a glimpse of what the royal lives are like for both the Fae and the Elves. Are they really that different? How do you fight prejudice that is so ingrained no one can actually remember why it all started in the first place?
This is a romance primarily but it also deals with issues like prejudice, history, war and even all of the above in one family! This book does not disappoint on any level and the standard of Victoria Danann's writing just keeps on getting better. No, this isn't as long as the others and NO this definitely doesn't affect the quality. It just meant that I was able to sit and read this in one sitting with no interfering habits, like sleeping, getting in the way!
This is part of a series and I would highly recommend that you read them in order. As a taster, the first book - The Familiar Stranger - is FREE. Get this one, take a deep breath, enter another dimension and never look back.
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
April 10, 2021
This is a romance primarily but it also deals with issues like prejudice, history, war and even all of the above in one family! This book does not disappoint on any level and the standard of Victoria Danann's writing just keeps on getting better. No, this isn't as long as the others and NO this definitely doesn't affect the quality. It just meant that I was able to sit and read this in one sitting with no interfering habits, like sleeping, getting in the way!
This is part of a series and I would highly recommend that you read them in order. As a taster, the first book - The Familiar Stranger - is FREE. Get this one, take a deep breath, enter another dimension and never look back.
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
April 10, 2021
Natari (73 KP) rated Girls of Paper and Fire in Books
Jul 19, 2019
Tips for reading this book:
1) remove annoying people from your space that disturb you else you may accidentally feel empathy to a moon caste demon who is prejudice against humans.
2) start reading in the morning (not 6pm like me) because there is no point which you can put the book down and the need to sleep is an annoying inteference.
3)ensure reading nest is stocked with fluid and snacks as per 2) there is no point you want to put book down. It does not stop. the action. The love. The horror. The hope. The racing hearts. The fire. No stop. You will not want to stop.
4) have tissues. It is a bittersweet story.
5) you are strong and wonderful and beautiful. Listen to Natasha's advice at the front of the book.
1) remove annoying people from your space that disturb you else you may accidentally feel empathy to a moon caste demon who is prejudice against humans.
2) start reading in the morning (not 6pm like me) because there is no point which you can put the book down and the need to sleep is an annoying inteference.
3)ensure reading nest is stocked with fluid and snacks as per 2) there is no point you want to put book down. It does not stop. the action. The love. The horror. The hope. The racing hearts. The fire. No stop. You will not want to stop.
4) have tissues. It is a bittersweet story.
5) you are strong and wonderful and beautiful. Listen to Natasha's advice at the front of the book.
A Killing On the Cape
Podcast
It was a crime that rocked an idyllic seaside town in Cape Cod -- the 2002 murder of Christa...
Red: A Natural History of the Redhead
Book
A New York Times bestseller, Red is the first book to explore the history of red hair and...