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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
A writer forms an unexpected bond with the residents of Guernsey Island in the aftermath of World War II, when she decides to write a book about their experiences during the war.
This one was a nice harmless kind of movie. Not one I'd feel compelled to see again, but enjoyable.
Before I went off to see this one I was read some comments on it from the Times. The assessment from their point of view was that this one won the award for “absolutely no screen chemistry whatsoever”. This is why I don't read reviews before I go. There was some awkwardness between the main characters, but had I not had that in my mind before going then I wouldn't have noticed. That awkwardness was entirely appropriate for the position that the pair were in.
There's nothing too objectionable about the Guernsey movie, apart from the long and unwieldy title it has inherited from the book. I just can't find anything more to say about it.
This one was a nice harmless kind of movie. Not one I'd feel compelled to see again, but enjoyable.
Before I went off to see this one I was read some comments on it from the Times. The assessment from their point of view was that this one won the award for “absolutely no screen chemistry whatsoever”. This is why I don't read reviews before I go. There was some awkwardness between the main characters, but had I not had that in my mind before going then I wouldn't have noticed. That awkwardness was entirely appropriate for the position that the pair were in.
There's nothing too objectionable about the Guernsey movie, apart from the long and unwieldy title it has inherited from the book. I just can't find anything more to say about it.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
I know some people complain about how dreary some kids films can be when it comes to the summer holidays. They knock out a bunch of stuff to make your little munchkins get excited and nag you into going. If the nagging takes you to see Hotel Transylvania 3 then I don't think you'll need to worry about it being a dreary outing.
Is it groundbreaking stuff? No. Is it entertaining? Yes.
My toes were tapping. I was laughing. It's an entertaining film. You know where it's going, you know before it even starts if you've seen a trailer for it, and it doesn't matter.
I don't want to spoil it, but there was a part in the movie where I was laughing before something had quite happened... maybe that's what too many years of terrible life choices does to you... when it happens, if you aren't dancing in your seat then you're a monster. And not the fun kind like in the movie!
Is it groundbreaking stuff? No. Is it entertaining? Yes.
My toes were tapping. I was laughing. It's an entertaining film. You know where it's going, you know before it even starts if you've seen a trailer for it, and it doesn't matter.
I don't want to spoil it, but there was a part in the movie where I was laughing before something had quite happened... maybe that's what too many years of terrible life choices does to you... when it happens, if you aren't dancing in your seat then you're a monster. And not the fun kind like in the movie!
CHILLFILTR (46 KP) rated Jump by Gabriel Black in Music
Jul 11, 2019
I hope I am not the only one that hears the echoes of Citizen Cope.
“sky high that’s a nice view
you called and i came thru
this is how i say i love you”
— Gabriel Black
It's a flow, there's some understated lyrics, and Sofi de la Torre's voice adds a nice coat of syrup to the core confection. This song took me by surprise. It's not exactly a roots track, yet is in the sense that it is modern and throwback at the same time. That OG self-titled Citizen Cope record was 16 years ago so it makes sense that the feeling is back.
Jump is not just a reanimation of some golden era of genre synthesis, it feels like the voice at every house party. It is the first premise of youth, as stated by David Bowie so many years ago: we are immune to your consultations. If you jump then I jump too.
“sky high that’s a nice view
you called and i came thru
this is how i say i love you”
— Gabriel Black
It's a flow, there's some understated lyrics, and Sofi de la Torre's voice adds a nice coat of syrup to the core confection. This song took me by surprise. It's not exactly a roots track, yet is in the sense that it is modern and throwback at the same time. That OG self-titled Citizen Cope record was 16 years ago so it makes sense that the feeling is back.
Jump is not just a reanimation of some golden era of genre synthesis, it feels like the voice at every house party. It is the first premise of youth, as stated by David Bowie so many years ago: we are immune to your consultations. If you jump then I jump too.
Sammeh Lowry (15 KP) rated The Last Star in Books
Jul 13, 2019
What happened! This series was so good, I am rather disappointed by this one! I just didn't feel as drawn into this one as I did the other two. Evan annoyed me to death and some of his choices just left me like excuse me? Really, is that how we are going to leave things? There were some absolutely cringe worthy lines when it comes to between Cassie and Evan. I had to read through one eye I found them so cringe worthy. I had hoped for so much more from this book and maybe an ending I hadn't predicted from the first half of the book. This book just didn't capture my imagination as the other two had done and I was so excited to read it. I was sure I was going to be sad by the end of this series but instead I am just sad that this book was nothing I had hoped it would be.
Jeremy King (346 KP) rated Welcome to Marwen (2018) in Movies
Sep 3, 2019
I went in to this thinking it was going to be lame but i truly enjoyed this movie. It was unique concept.
It gives a great perspective of the damage violence/bullying can cause and how one has to deals with violence afterwards.
I think this movie is great for adult but kids and teens might not get the real meaning of this movie and only take it at face value.
For example some people might think his collection of women's shoes is because he wants to crossdress but i believe it is just because he likes them like some guys like classic cars. To him they are art, he even mentions his knowledge about shoes when he was saying that they are the wrong time period. By not being in the mainstream like everyone else and doing what he feels comfortable with he is bullied to the max just for being different.
It gives a great perspective of the damage violence/bullying can cause and how one has to deals with violence afterwards.
I think this movie is great for adult but kids and teens might not get the real meaning of this movie and only take it at face value.
For example some people might think his collection of women's shoes is because he wants to crossdress but i believe it is just because he likes them like some guys like classic cars. To him they are art, he even mentions his knowledge about shoes when he was saying that they are the wrong time period. By not being in the mainstream like everyone else and doing what he feels comfortable with he is bullied to the max just for being different.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Backward Compatible in Books
Sep 6, 2019
3.5 stars.
I've always liked playing games on the various platforms, some I was better at than others, some I enjoyed more than others, so the chance to read a romance between two gamers was quite fun.
The references they bandied about were fun at times and at others I had no ideas what they were talking about so maybe I'm not as big a geek as this gang of friends. But the banter was fun nonetheless.
I liked the romance aspect, how it sort of grew slowly and then because they weren't used to being in a relationship, they didn't know what they were to each other: friends, boyfriend/girlfriend...they figured it out after a while though.
The side story--or maybe it was the main story--of the game, didn't interest me as much but when it got to its ending, I thought the outcome was quite funny. All that work...lol.
I've always liked playing games on the various platforms, some I was better at than others, some I enjoyed more than others, so the chance to read a romance between two gamers was quite fun.
The references they bandied about were fun at times and at others I had no ideas what they were talking about so maybe I'm not as big a geek as this gang of friends. But the banter was fun nonetheless.
I liked the romance aspect, how it sort of grew slowly and then because they weren't used to being in a relationship, they didn't know what they were to each other: friends, boyfriend/girlfriend...they figured it out after a while though.
The side story--or maybe it was the main story--of the game, didn't interest me as much but when it got to its ending, I thought the outcome was quite funny. All that work...lol.
Elizabeth Ann Brough (5 KP) rated The Other Queen (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels, #15) in Books
Aug 25, 2019
One of Philippa Gregory's Best
Philippa Gregory may have her critics, but I am not one of them. This is one of my favourite novels of hers and she does a great job of introducing the reader to the formidable Bess of Hardwick, a figure from history that I knew next to nothing about, but who was a witness to, and a part of, some important moments in history. One thing that I like about Philippa Gregory is that she is honest about how she "fills in the gaps" of history to craft her novels - her Author's notes at the end of her works always explain this and sometimes detail how it was done. I often reread Philippa's work and I'm definitely going to go back to this, it's been too long.
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Booksmart (2019) in Movies
Jul 27, 2020
Nothing special
This film has been on my Amazon watchlist for quite some time and considering the rave reviews it's had I finally decided to give it a go, and to be honest i was a little disappointed.
For me, this was no different than any other coming of age teenager type film. Think a slightly more modern version of Superbad but with two female leads. Don't get me wrong, Beanie Feldstein especially does a great job and she really is a wonderful young actor who deserves to go far. However the story itself is just not particularly different or memorable to anything we've seen before - it follows that same formula we see in all those other coming of age type films. There are some sweet heartwarming moments in this along with a few laughs, but for me it was nothing special. Feldstein makes this film and if it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't have liked this film at all.
For me, this was no different than any other coming of age teenager type film. Think a slightly more modern version of Superbad but with two female leads. Don't get me wrong, Beanie Feldstein especially does a great job and she really is a wonderful young actor who deserves to go far. However the story itself is just not particularly different or memorable to anything we've seen before - it follows that same formula we see in all those other coming of age type films. There are some sweet heartwarming moments in this along with a few laughs, but for me it was nothing special. Feldstein makes this film and if it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't have liked this film at all.
Bostonian916 (449 KP) rated Riot (2015) in Movies
Aug 18, 2020
Everything I'd ever seen said about this movie indicated that it was action (read: FIGHT) driven. I might have never believed anything to be a more accurate description...
The fight scenes are definitely plentiful, as you would expect from a movie that includes Chuck Liddell and Dolph Lundgren (Matthew Reese and Danielle Ryan both hold their own quite well). I don't think there is more than a three or four minute section of footage that doesn't include fighting of some sort.
The story is quite thin, but I would imagine that if you're watching this movie, you aren't watching it for the story.
The choreography is usually pretty good with a few small exceptions, the fight scenes are entertaining if nothing else. The action is non stop.
Great movie if your craving unadulterated violence and some familiar faces. Try to ignore Chuck Liddell's sometimes present, sometimes missing Russian accent. It seems to come and go at will.
The fight scenes are definitely plentiful, as you would expect from a movie that includes Chuck Liddell and Dolph Lundgren (Matthew Reese and Danielle Ryan both hold their own quite well). I don't think there is more than a three or four minute section of footage that doesn't include fighting of some sort.
The story is quite thin, but I would imagine that if you're watching this movie, you aren't watching it for the story.
The choreography is usually pretty good with a few small exceptions, the fight scenes are entertaining if nothing else. The action is non stop.
Great movie if your craving unadulterated violence and some familiar faces. Try to ignore Chuck Liddell's sometimes present, sometimes missing Russian accent. It seems to come and go at will.
Sarah (7798 KP) rated The Strangers (2008) in Movies
Aug 19, 2020
Some decent creepy moments
The first time I watched this I remember being ridiculously creeped out, mostly from one of the final lines that explains the stranger's motives. On watching this again, it is a little disappointing.
My main issue with this film is with the actions of the main characters. None of what they do to try and save themselves makes sense, and neither of them are made out to be likeable or endearing either, to the point where you really don't care what happens to them. It's a shame as this does have some creepy moments, from the "he's behind you" type scenes to that motive reveal at the end - these were really enjoyable.
I never thought I'd say this, but in the case of The Strangers the sequel is definitely better. These two films seem like worlds apart and sadly I think this original film is lacking in a lot that the sequel gave in abundance.
My main issue with this film is with the actions of the main characters. None of what they do to try and save themselves makes sense, and neither of them are made out to be likeable or endearing either, to the point where you really don't care what happens to them. It's a shame as this does have some creepy moments, from the "he's behind you" type scenes to that motive reveal at the end - these were really enjoyable.
I never thought I'd say this, but in the case of The Strangers the sequel is definitely better. These two films seem like worlds apart and sadly I think this original film is lacking in a lot that the sequel gave in abundance.