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Christopher McQuarrie recommended Ford v Ferrari (aka Le Mans '66) (2019) in Movies (curated)
Michael Phillips recommended The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) in Movies (curated)
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The Rules of Attraction (2002) in Movies
Sep 21, 2020
Bracingly twisted, disturbing 110 minutes of sex-crazed, sleazebag college sociopaths and the unenviably depressing lives they lead. A more quintessential Bret Easton Ellis film than even 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘗𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰 in showcasing his deliriously warped sense of the world. A university 'romance' drama soaked in booze, coke, apathy, sex, and a seething disdain for living well - naturally I loved it in all its parasitic debauchery. One of the most quietly experimental films of the early 2000s and also one of the fewer ones from that era that actually has a righteous soundtrack and tolerable sense of style. James Van Der Beek is a beast - existing on some other religious, primordial plane of existence that we can't comprehend in our current timeline just yet - and every other performance isn't too far behind. We should probably check up on the people who view this as some sort of misunderstood Truth Serum though, I just love it because it's fucked up tbh and I unashamedly dig me some rich slime. Loathes its characters but never superficially, like it *really* does - revels in the glee of inflicting cruelty on these horrid people but backs it up with tangible emotion to create this hypnotic clash of feelings. Couldn't take my eyes off it. I shudder to even use this now meaningless saying but... I'd be hard pressed to say you could have gotten away with making this today.
Merissa (12934 KP) rated Second Match (Perfect Match Agency #5) in Books
Aug 3, 2023
SECOND MATCH is Morgan Dor's story. I first met him in Chance Match when the omega he'd been paired with fell for his assistant instead. So when I saw Morgan in this story, I knew I had to read it.
It did help me, having read about Morgan before, as there isn't much background to him in this book. Riley is the omega he gets matched with, who suffers from an extreme UV allergy. This means he gets called a demon and shunned by everyone, including most of his family, by the religious cult he grew up with.
This book moves at a breakneck pace which, unfortunately, means most parts are not fleshed out or given the attention they deserve. At best, points are skimmed over and the reader is told what has happened, rather than being shown, ie. Riley's UV treatments, the year of their marriage, and the crazy cult leader. I was left with many questions after reading this, which was a shame as I had loved the other story.
A good addition to the Perfect Match Agency series that I did enjoy, but I would recommend you read Chance Match first, just so you get a little more background.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Aug 3, 2023
It did help me, having read about Morgan before, as there isn't much background to him in this book. Riley is the omega he gets matched with, who suffers from an extreme UV allergy. This means he gets called a demon and shunned by everyone, including most of his family, by the religious cult he grew up with.
This book moves at a breakneck pace which, unfortunately, means most parts are not fleshed out or given the attention they deserve. At best, points are skimmed over and the reader is told what has happened, rather than being shown, ie. Riley's UV treatments, the year of their marriage, and the crazy cult leader. I was left with many questions after reading this, which was a shame as I had loved the other story.
A good addition to the Perfect Match Agency series that I did enjoy, but I would recommend you read Chance Match first, just so you get a little more background.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Aug 3, 2023
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Carrie in Books
Nov 14, 2018
Full review can be found on my blog - www.diaryofdifference.com
I am probably one of the last people on Earth that hasn’t read a Stephen King book. Carrie is the first book I decided to read. People have been suggesting it to me for a while, and it seemed like a nice short bit of introduction to Stephen’s horror world.
Also, a special thank you to my friend Dave, for constantly recommending Stephen King books to me, until I finally decided to listen to him. He seemed to be right!
Now - Carrie.
A book about a girl that lives with her crazy religious mother in a creepy house. A girl who is being bullied at school all the time. A story about a girl that has the ability to move objects as she wishes. And a prom night, where everything escalates.
Carrie is a sixteen year old girl. And she has been raised by her mother, who is a religious person in a - not healthy way. When Carrie misbehaves, she is sent to a closet to pray for the whole day. Even though Carrie doesn’t share her mother’s beliefs, she can’t really stand up and fight for herself.
The plot gets a grip when Carrie has her first period at the age of sixteen. She thinks she will bleed to death. And all her classmates are laughing at her, because she is stupid. And throw tampons her way. And as I am reading this, I keep thinking - what kind of mother won’t tell her child about menstruation, and puberty, and all the normal teenage phases a kid has to go through while growing up?
This moment, in the school bathroom, is the moment Carrie finds out about her powers.
And a few weeks later, a terrible thing happens.
This is a horror story, but the horror doesn’t lie in what Carrie did, but what led her to do that. Who it is to blame, and why things escalated the way they did.
Stephen King described bullying in its most painful and real way, and the consequences it can lead to. And it does happen, in every school, to a lot of children all over the world each day. A sometimes, most of the times, they are bullied only because they are different, not because they are bad.
This is a story that silently stands up to bullying, and by doing that raises such a strong voice in every corner of the world.
And remember - if you are the bully - think twice before you say things. Words can hurt, and they can result in bad things happening. Think twice about why you say what you say. The classmate of yours might have a talent you don’t know of.
And if you are the bullied child - also remember - you are kind and beautiful, no matter what everyone says. You shouldn’t let people bring you down. And we have all been bullied while growing up. Once you reach a certain age, people stop caring, and you stop caring what people think, and then, finally, you can be comfortable and happy with who you are!
I am probably one of the last people on Earth that hasn’t read a Stephen King book. Carrie is the first book I decided to read. People have been suggesting it to me for a while, and it seemed like a nice short bit of introduction to Stephen’s horror world.
Also, a special thank you to my friend Dave, for constantly recommending Stephen King books to me, until I finally decided to listen to him. He seemed to be right!
Now - Carrie.
A book about a girl that lives with her crazy religious mother in a creepy house. A girl who is being bullied at school all the time. A story about a girl that has the ability to move objects as she wishes. And a prom night, where everything escalates.
Carrie is a sixteen year old girl. And she has been raised by her mother, who is a religious person in a - not healthy way. When Carrie misbehaves, she is sent to a closet to pray for the whole day. Even though Carrie doesn’t share her mother’s beliefs, she can’t really stand up and fight for herself.
The plot gets a grip when Carrie has her first period at the age of sixteen. She thinks she will bleed to death. And all her classmates are laughing at her, because she is stupid. And throw tampons her way. And as I am reading this, I keep thinking - what kind of mother won’t tell her child about menstruation, and puberty, and all the normal teenage phases a kid has to go through while growing up?
This moment, in the school bathroom, is the moment Carrie finds out about her powers.
And a few weeks later, a terrible thing happens.
This is a horror story, but the horror doesn’t lie in what Carrie did, but what led her to do that. Who it is to blame, and why things escalated the way they did.
Stephen King described bullying in its most painful and real way, and the consequences it can lead to. And it does happen, in every school, to a lot of children all over the world each day. A sometimes, most of the times, they are bullied only because they are different, not because they are bad.
This is a story that silently stands up to bullying, and by doing that raises such a strong voice in every corner of the world.
And remember - if you are the bully - think twice before you say things. Words can hurt, and they can result in bad things happening. Think twice about why you say what you say. The classmate of yours might have a talent you don’t know of.
And if you are the bullied child - also remember - you are kind and beautiful, no matter what everyone says. You shouldn’t let people bring you down. And we have all been bullied while growing up. Once you reach a certain age, people stop caring, and you stop caring what people think, and then, finally, you can be comfortable and happy with who you are!
Hazel (1853 KP) rated Way Down Dark (The Australia Trilogy, #1) in Books
Dec 14, 2018
<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Way Down Dark</i> is the first in the <i>Australia</i> trilogy by J.P. Smythe, a brand new dystopian series for young adult readers. The world has been destroyed and humans boarded space ships in order to find somewhere to live, however, generations later the passengers aboard <i>Australia</i> have not found anywhere. The years have taken their toll on the ship, which is slowly falling to pieces, it’s inhabitants reduced to scavengers.
Recently orphaned Chan is living alone and trying to fend for herself as the Lows, an ever-increasing band of murderous thugs, wage war on everyone else. Nowhere is safe and quite often Chan finds herself in a situation where it is either kill or be killed. When Chan’s mother died her last instructions were to stay out of trouble, be selfish and don’t die. Chan on the other hand finds it extremely difficult to be selfish when she sees other people in life threatening situations. Thankfully she has Angela, a fifty something woman, looking out for her. But then Angela introduces Chan to a part of the ship no one has ever been to before, a part that challenges the truth behind the stories believed by everyone about the destruction of Earth. This new knowledge fuels Chan’s determination to save the lives of as many she can, thus finding herself in perilous situations.
Despite being set in the distant future, the characters at the beginning are living lives similar to those of the past – making clothes, shoes and weapons from scratch, picking fruit in the arboretum in order to eat. So although many dystopian novels involve some kind of enhanced technology, <i>Way Down Dark</i> does not, which separates it from other books of the same genre.
As well as Chan’s narrative, the novel also contains Angela’s stories of the past when Chan’s mother was young. These help to explain some of the situations the characters find themselves in now. It is also through Angela that Chan begins to discover the truth about the ship <i>Australia</i> and the lies they have been led to believe.
The main characters are very likable and display a range of personalities, each adding something different to the story. Chan is quick thinking, strong-willed and unselfish whereas, although Angela cares and protects, she keeps more to herself rather than jump into the fight in order to be a hero. Finally, Jonah, a young man who teams up with Chan and Angela, is a mix of Chan’s personalities with a religious streak, or what passes as religious on the <i>Australia</i>.
Although it is less futuristic than other popular young adult novels such as <i>Divergent</i> or <i>The Hunger Games</i>, readers are bound to enjoy <i>Way Down Dark</i> and its sequels. It is full of action, violence and survival told from the point of view of a teenage girl. <i>Way Down Dark</i> is a highly recommended, gripping novel, which promises to satisfy the needs of dystopian lovers.
Way Down Dark</i> is the first in the <i>Australia</i> trilogy by J.P. Smythe, a brand new dystopian series for young adult readers. The world has been destroyed and humans boarded space ships in order to find somewhere to live, however, generations later the passengers aboard <i>Australia</i> have not found anywhere. The years have taken their toll on the ship, which is slowly falling to pieces, it’s inhabitants reduced to scavengers.
Recently orphaned Chan is living alone and trying to fend for herself as the Lows, an ever-increasing band of murderous thugs, wage war on everyone else. Nowhere is safe and quite often Chan finds herself in a situation where it is either kill or be killed. When Chan’s mother died her last instructions were to stay out of trouble, be selfish and don’t die. Chan on the other hand finds it extremely difficult to be selfish when she sees other people in life threatening situations. Thankfully she has Angela, a fifty something woman, looking out for her. But then Angela introduces Chan to a part of the ship no one has ever been to before, a part that challenges the truth behind the stories believed by everyone about the destruction of Earth. This new knowledge fuels Chan’s determination to save the lives of as many she can, thus finding herself in perilous situations.
Despite being set in the distant future, the characters at the beginning are living lives similar to those of the past – making clothes, shoes and weapons from scratch, picking fruit in the arboretum in order to eat. So although many dystopian novels involve some kind of enhanced technology, <i>Way Down Dark</i> does not, which separates it from other books of the same genre.
As well as Chan’s narrative, the novel also contains Angela’s stories of the past when Chan’s mother was young. These help to explain some of the situations the characters find themselves in now. It is also through Angela that Chan begins to discover the truth about the ship <i>Australia</i> and the lies they have been led to believe.
The main characters are very likable and display a range of personalities, each adding something different to the story. Chan is quick thinking, strong-willed and unselfish whereas, although Angela cares and protects, she keeps more to herself rather than jump into the fight in order to be a hero. Finally, Jonah, a young man who teams up with Chan and Angela, is a mix of Chan’s personalities with a religious streak, or what passes as religious on the <i>Australia</i>.
Although it is less futuristic than other popular young adult novels such as <i>Divergent</i> or <i>The Hunger Games</i>, readers are bound to enjoy <i>Way Down Dark</i> and its sequels. It is full of action, violence and survival told from the point of view of a teenage girl. <i>Way Down Dark</i> is a highly recommended, gripping novel, which promises to satisfy the needs of dystopian lovers.
Amy Christmas (171 KP) rated The Perfect Victim in Books
Nov 17, 2017
Twists that you don't expect (3 more)
Great writing
There are multiple story threads
Easy to connect to the characters and care about the events of the story
A small amount of cliché plot devices (1 more)
Can get bland in some areas
Keeps you hanging
I bloody loved this book. I usually hate these kinds of mystery thrillers and only like the very best the genre has to offer, and this definitely impressed.
You read from Sophie Kent's point of view, a journalist on the job, and there has been a murder. It isn't long before people start to point fingers at people one of them being Charlie Swift, Sophies co-worker. As evidence keeps turning to him further bolsters by his disappearance Sophie struggles to accept that Charlie could murder a woman.
Sophie does her job and investigates, stating one step ahead of the police's investigation and uncovers a broken childhood, a religious cult, burning bodies, and several murders.
What makes this book so good in my opinion is that it isn't solely focused on the murder and the characters have their own story arcs, their own problems.
Sophie had a younger brother Tommy who supposedly died of drug use, a fractured relationship with her father and DCI Durand keeps coming to her rescue but out of personal gain or affection is the question. There are struggles within the police force and the more important characters have lives.
I would recommend this book to no end, and that's coming from someone who usually dislikes these kinds of books.
You read from Sophie Kent's point of view, a journalist on the job, and there has been a murder. It isn't long before people start to point fingers at people one of them being Charlie Swift, Sophies co-worker. As evidence keeps turning to him further bolsters by his disappearance Sophie struggles to accept that Charlie could murder a woman.
Sophie does her job and investigates, stating one step ahead of the police's investigation and uncovers a broken childhood, a religious cult, burning bodies, and several murders.
What makes this book so good in my opinion is that it isn't solely focused on the murder and the characters have their own story arcs, their own problems.
Sophie had a younger brother Tommy who supposedly died of drug use, a fractured relationship with her father and DCI Durand keeps coming to her rescue but out of personal gain or affection is the question. There are struggles within the police force and the more important characters have lives.
I would recommend this book to no end, and that's coming from someone who usually dislikes these kinds of books.
Merissa (12934 KP) rated Off Base (Out of Uniform #1) in Books
Jun 18, 2018
Off Base (Out of Uniform #1) by Annabeth Albert
Off Base is the first book in the Out of Uniform series. I double-checked the synopsis as it didn't feel like the first book, only to see it was a spin-off from the #Gaymers series! Now I have another series to catch up on ;)
Zack is an all-macho good guy, determined to make his deeply religious parents proud. His brother is basically a deadbeat, so he feels the pressure to be perfect. Pike is a friend of a friend, and someone who riles Zack up in all the ways he doesn't want to acknowledge. So be prepared for snarkiness and sparks between these two.
This was a wonderful introduction to this series, showing out Zack thinks he has to fight every battle alone. Seriously, you think he'd know better, but his fears have their place, and are very real to him. Pike helps him where he can, but isn't prepared to hide who he is. I absolutely love these two, so young, so unsure, and yep, so HOT!
There is romance, angst, pain, steam, and a multitude of other emotions between these pages. With no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt my reading flow, I absolutely recommend this book. An absolute blast of a start to the series, and I can't wait to read more.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Zack is an all-macho good guy, determined to make his deeply religious parents proud. His brother is basically a deadbeat, so he feels the pressure to be perfect. Pike is a friend of a friend, and someone who riles Zack up in all the ways he doesn't want to acknowledge. So be prepared for snarkiness and sparks between these two.
This was a wonderful introduction to this series, showing out Zack thinks he has to fight every battle alone. Seriously, you think he'd know better, but his fears have their place, and are very real to him. Pike helps him where he can, but isn't prepared to hide who he is. I absolutely love these two, so young, so unsure, and yep, so HOT!
There is romance, angst, pain, steam, and a multitude of other emotions between these pages. With no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt my reading flow, I absolutely recommend this book. An absolute blast of a start to the series, and I can't wait to read more.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
BookInspector (124 KP) rated Sign of the Cross (Cal Donovan, #1) in Books
Sep 24, 2020
This book is told from multiple perspectives and it has a very wide variety of characters to choose from. I really liked Cal (kind of the main character of this book), he is a very charming, intelligent and likeable character. Sometimes I used to get lost between who is who, due to a huge amount of different characters, whose names were not the easiest to pronounce. I am not very religious, but I really liked the way history and religion were combined in this novel, it was truly amusing.
This novel is very well researched, and it was visible, that the author loves history and knows how to present it to the reader in a fun manner. The narrative always keeps changing between different locations and different times. I really liked this constant change, it made the book lively and it kept me entertained. It is quite a short book, so every chapter brings something new and unexpected.
This novel has a lot of facts and information and wasn’t the easiest read, it requires quite a bit of concentration. The chapters have decent length and didn’t drag to me. The ending was interesting and rounded up the story nicely. So, to conclude, it is a fast-paced and educational novel, filled with adventure, amusing characters and always changing plot. If you enjoyed The Da Vinci Code or similar books, I think you would enjoy it as well. Give this book a try, and I hope you will like it as much as I did. 🙂
This novel is very well researched, and it was visible, that the author loves history and knows how to present it to the reader in a fun manner. The narrative always keeps changing between different locations and different times. I really liked this constant change, it made the book lively and it kept me entertained. It is quite a short book, so every chapter brings something new and unexpected.
This novel has a lot of facts and information and wasn’t the easiest read, it requires quite a bit of concentration. The chapters have decent length and didn’t drag to me. The ending was interesting and rounded up the story nicely. So, to conclude, it is a fast-paced and educational novel, filled with adventure, amusing characters and always changing plot. If you enjoyed The Da Vinci Code or similar books, I think you would enjoy it as well. Give this book a try, and I hope you will like it as much as I did. 🙂
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) in Movies
Sep 16, 2020
Dont Bury Me Im Not Dead
The Serpent and The Rainbow- is a excellent voodoo horrror flick. Bill pullman does a fantasic job in this. The visuals are great, the horror is great.
The Plot: In a time of social and political unrest in Haiti, anthropologist Dennis Alan (Bill Pullman) travels to the torn country to study a Voodoo drug used in religious practices to turn victims into living zombies. With the help of a witch doctor (Brent Jennings) and a fellow researcher (Cathy Tyson), Dennis pieces together the deadly mystery. But as Dennis uncovers the secrets behind the mysterious powder, he must evade the Haitian authorities who view his research as a potential threat.
During production in Haiti, the local government informed the cast and crew that they could not guarantee their safety for the remainder of the film's shoot because of the political strife and civil turmoil that was occurring during that time; as a result, production was relocated to the Dominican Republic for the remainder of the shoot.
In an interview, Craven stated that unlike his previous films that had problems with the Motion Picture Association of America, the first cut got an R rating without any problems. According to an article from Fangoria #71, the original cut was three hours long but Craven felt that it was too long and talky so it was cut down to 98 minutes. It was then test screened to the audience and their reactions were favorable.
Its a excellent film.
The Plot: In a time of social and political unrest in Haiti, anthropologist Dennis Alan (Bill Pullman) travels to the torn country to study a Voodoo drug used in religious practices to turn victims into living zombies. With the help of a witch doctor (Brent Jennings) and a fellow researcher (Cathy Tyson), Dennis pieces together the deadly mystery. But as Dennis uncovers the secrets behind the mysterious powder, he must evade the Haitian authorities who view his research as a potential threat.
During production in Haiti, the local government informed the cast and crew that they could not guarantee their safety for the remainder of the film's shoot because of the political strife and civil turmoil that was occurring during that time; as a result, production was relocated to the Dominican Republic for the remainder of the shoot.
In an interview, Craven stated that unlike his previous films that had problems with the Motion Picture Association of America, the first cut got an R rating without any problems. According to an article from Fangoria #71, the original cut was three hours long but Craven felt that it was too long and talky so it was cut down to 98 minutes. It was then test screened to the audience and their reactions were favorable.
Its a excellent film.