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Sarah (7800 KP) rated Philomena (2013) in Movies
Oct 26, 2017
A great heartwarming comedy
I avoided this film for a few years mainly because of Steve Coogan, but i can honestly say it is a very funny, heartwarming, sad and disturbing tale.
Judi Dench is as fantastic as ever as Phil. She brings such warmth and a believability to the at times naive Irish woman. The script itself is clever and well written. I didn't think such a disturbing and horrible story could include some truly funny moments, but it pulls them off well. It also really highlights Phil's story without downplaying or making light of, and it's a story that really needs to be told. This isn't something that I was aware of, so it has really opened my eyes to what went on and did in fact make me quite angry.
My only criticism would be Steve Coogan. He seems to play a similar character in most films and other than towards the end of Philomena, you don't feel much ot care much for him.
Judi Dench is as fantastic as ever as Phil. She brings such warmth and a believability to the at times naive Irish woman. The script itself is clever and well written. I didn't think such a disturbing and horrible story could include some truly funny moments, but it pulls them off well. It also really highlights Phil's story without downplaying or making light of, and it's a story that really needs to be told. This isn't something that I was aware of, so it has really opened my eyes to what went on and did in fact make me quite angry.
My only criticism would be Steve Coogan. He seems to play a similar character in most films and other than towards the end of Philomena, you don't feel much ot care much for him.

Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Stranger Things - Season 2 in TV
Oct 28, 2017 (Updated Oct 28, 2017)
Still love the characters (4 more)
El's goth look
Lucas' mouthy little sister Erica!
Sean Astin is adorable as Bob
Dustin's cat call
Max's older brother (1 more)
Sad that it's already over
Waiting for season 3 already!
I binge-watched this over 24 hours and was still completely hooked. And of course, knowing what the Upside Down is, is a bit of a spoiler but there's so much more to add in this one.
For one we get more of a back story on Eleven, and get to know the wider circle of each family. And there are more characters to explore in this series. The kids have both matured and are dealing with their own issues and traumas, giving a little more depth to their roles. And Will is not as well as he seems.
And just two words: not Bob!
The worst part is that it's over and not knowing when the next one's out. A great comeback to this show.
For one we get more of a back story on Eleven, and get to know the wider circle of each family. And there are more characters to explore in this series. The kids have both matured and are dealing with their own issues and traumas, giving a little more depth to their roles. And Will is not as well as he seems.
And just two words: not Bob!
The worst part is that it's over and not knowing when the next one's out. A great comeback to this show.

Lindsay (1760 KP) rated The Christmas Blessing in Books
Dec 8, 2017
The Christmas Blessing is a really good book. It had me emotional throughout the book. This shows the sad and the happy. It deals with a young woman with her son. The young woman thinks here soon to be husband has died and so do his parents.
Will the Bentley accept Amelia and her son? Amelia does something to help her son Jimmy? She cares about her son. Amelia sees Jimmy family putting together a Nativity the day after Thanksgiving. She worries about her son and that he is sick. She does something and the family finds him.
We meet James Bentley and what happened to him for sure. There a sweet ending and I do not want to give it away. Carlson does a good job writing the plot and it was done nicely. There some sweet moments and some teary moments.
It a great Christmas story and it is sweet. I loved it.
Will the Bentley accept Amelia and her son? Amelia does something to help her son Jimmy? She cares about her son. Amelia sees Jimmy family putting together a Nativity the day after Thanksgiving. She worries about her son and that he is sick. She does something and the family finds him.
We meet James Bentley and what happened to him for sure. There a sweet ending and I do not want to give it away. Carlson does a good job writing the plot and it was done nicely. There some sweet moments and some teary moments.
It a great Christmas story and it is sweet. I loved it.

Sarah (7800 KP) rated Daddy's Home 2 (2017) in Movies
Dec 13, 2017
Generous giving it a 3?
I'll be frankly honest and say this is not my type of film. I have a very particular sense of humour and generic mainstream comedies like this really work for me.
I didn't think much of the first one and I'm afraid this is even worse. Right from the first scene, the "funny" scenes just aren't funny and it doesn't improve as the film goes on. I'm sad to say I barely even tittered at this, let alone laugh out loud. It has a great cast but they are sorely wasted in this. Will Ferrell used to be a comedy genius, what happened? And when you think it cant get worse, they throw in the most cringeworthy singalong possible. This is the kind of film you'd put on tv for background noise and then completely ignore as it's that bad. Didnt even get me into the festive spirit!
I didn't think much of the first one and I'm afraid this is even worse. Right from the first scene, the "funny" scenes just aren't funny and it doesn't improve as the film goes on. I'm sad to say I barely even tittered at this, let alone laugh out loud. It has a great cast but they are sorely wasted in this. Will Ferrell used to be a comedy genius, what happened? And when you think it cant get worse, they throw in the most cringeworthy singalong possible. This is the kind of film you'd put on tv for background noise and then completely ignore as it's that bad. Didnt even get me into the festive spirit!

Rose (201 KP) rated Game Of Thrones - Season 4 in TV
Jul 18, 2017
Pedro Pascal as Oberyn Martell (3 more)
More Cersei
Sansa at the Eyrie
Hafþór JúlÃus Björnsson as the Mountain
Fly through the Moon Door
I've got to say that I really enjoyed this season, mainly in part due to Pedro Pascal playing Oberyn Martell. He stole every scene he was in, even ones with Cersei, who usually draws my eye wherever she's sauntering about. And, though I knew it was coming, the squish was all together horrifying and sad.
Hafþór JúlÃus Björnsson did a great job as Gregor Clegane, a mountain among men.
Though not quite following the book, I had a great time with the events at the Eyrie and loved watching Sansa grow farther away from the naive little girl she used to be.
There are a great many things that happened in this season, good and bad, but these actors/events stood out to me the most at the time of writing this.
Hafþór JúlÃus Björnsson did a great job as Gregor Clegane, a mountain among men.
Though not quite following the book, I had a great time with the events at the Eyrie and loved watching Sansa grow farther away from the naive little girl she used to be.
There are a great many things that happened in this season, good and bad, but these actors/events stood out to me the most at the time of writing this.

Krismc28 (2 KP) rated Insidious : The Last Key (2018) in Movies
Jan 12, 2018
Great movie
Contains spoilers, click to show
This movie was pretty great in my opinion. The jump scares make a movie fun. I loved the back story of Elise and what she had to go through as a child. The whole thing of her being beat by her dad because of her gifts was pretty sad. I was not expecting all of the stuff Elise found when coming back to her own childhood home that her dad had done. I also loved that one of Elise's nieces has the same gift as her. I'm loving the fact that they left it open for another movie with the help of Elise for the grandchild of the little boy from the first movie.

Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated The Fault in Our Stars in Books
Sep 11, 2017
Bittersweet, but quite similar to others in the genre
There seems to be rave reviews for this book and its counterpart film, and while I understand that it is tragic I just feel I've read similar novels in the past.
The tone resembles My Sister's Keeper in many ways, written in the perspective of teenagers suffering from cancer and attempting to lead as normal a life as possible. And while it's sweet and sad, I just don't feel it was written that spectacularly. The story content is important, but the writing falls a little short - but I'm assuming that as this is more for young adults, it is geared in this way as well.
And I may sound completely heartless but the build-up to the reveal was overdone, and the ending was drawn out for far too long that it was an anti-climax. That could be the author's intention to make death seem as if a passing ship. A little disappointed overall.
The tone resembles My Sister's Keeper in many ways, written in the perspective of teenagers suffering from cancer and attempting to lead as normal a life as possible. And while it's sweet and sad, I just don't feel it was written that spectacularly. The story content is important, but the writing falls a little short - but I'm assuming that as this is more for young adults, it is geared in this way as well.
And I may sound completely heartless but the build-up to the reveal was overdone, and the ending was drawn out for far too long that it was an anti-climax. That could be the author's intention to make death seem as if a passing ship. A little disappointed overall.

Domonique (0 KP) rated Everything, Everything in Books
May 12, 2018
OMG, I almost didn't want this book to end it was that good. I love reading books like this, books that take you away from your life and really emerge you in someone else's. It made me happy and sad and angry all at once. And in the end, I felt satisfied that Madeline finally was able to truly experience and enjoy life.
In regards to her mom, I just want to say without giving too much away, I don't know what it feels to lose both your husband and your son in one sitting and still have to go on living to raise your daughter. I can only imagine how difficult it was for her to pick up the pieces of her life and keep going. And even though I think what she did was wrong, as Madeline said, love makes you do crazy things. And fear of losing those we love can sometimes drive us to madness.
In regards to her mom, I just want to say without giving too much away, I don't know what it feels to lose both your husband and your son in one sitting and still have to go on living to raise your daughter. I can only imagine how difficult it was for her to pick up the pieces of her life and keep going. And even though I think what she did was wrong, as Madeline said, love makes you do crazy things. And fear of losing those we love can sometimes drive us to madness.

Heathski (173 KP) rated The Closer We Are To Dying in Books
Feb 15, 2019
Well written and easy to read (2 more)
Full of wonderful stories
Family
Poignant beautiful memoir that I will always remember.
I read this a long time ago. I'm not that into reading biographies but I will always remember this book. It's about the memoirs of the father of the author and their family. His father is dying and Joe recounts the story of their reconciliation while he stays by his beside. Stories are told about the past, both happy and sad, humorous and at times violent. I grew up listening to stories from my older generation, which might be why I enjoyed this so much. It also reminded me a little bit of my uncle's, they always looked Italian and were mischievous. The way it is written is beautiful and engaging, and the stories are emotional, captivating and sometimes shocking. If its still available, it is a book I highly recommend you pick up and read.

Ross (3284 KP) rated How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) in Movies
Feb 25, 2019
Fitting conclusion
The conclusion to the trilogy sees the dragon population under threat from poachers, and their use of a female "light fury" to lure toothless and all the dragons who follow him to their capture.
The plot sees Hiccup struggling to accept his inevitable marriage to Astrid, at the same time as Toothless seems besotted with his new female acquaintance. Toothless's reluctance to leave Hiccup behind is won over by his desire to get to know the female; whereas with Hiccup his head wins out and he doesn't seem ready to focus on anything other than leading the clan.
The visuals are excellent, with some scenes that rival Coco for beautiful other-worldly colours.
The story is enough to keep all entertained, and this might have been my 4 year old son's first real emotional film (at the end he turned to me with wet eyes and said "its ok sometimes to cry when a happy thing happens instead of a sad one").
The plot sees Hiccup struggling to accept his inevitable marriage to Astrid, at the same time as Toothless seems besotted with his new female acquaintance. Toothless's reluctance to leave Hiccup behind is won over by his desire to get to know the female; whereas with Hiccup his head wins out and he doesn't seem ready to focus on anything other than leading the clan.
The visuals are excellent, with some scenes that rival Coco for beautiful other-worldly colours.
The story is enough to keep all entertained, and this might have been my 4 year old son's first real emotional film (at the end he turned to me with wet eyes and said "its ok sometimes to cry when a happy thing happens instead of a sad one").