The Handmaid's Tale - Season 1
TV Season Watch
Based on the book by Margaret Atwood of the same name, the series is set in the near future in which...
A Very Dangerous Woman:: The Lives, Loves and Lies of Russia's Most Seductive Spy
Jeremy Dronfield and Deborah McDonald
Book
Spy, adventurer, charismatic seductress and mistress of two of the century's greatest writers, the...
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated The Enemy Within in TV
Jul 7, 2020
In 2015, when Russian terrorist Mikhail Vassily Tal threatens her daughter, Erica Shepard, CIA Deputy Director of Operations, is forced to reveal the names of four agents. Erica is arrested by FBI Agent Will Keaton when the agents are killed, sentenced to 15 life sentences and labeled one of America's most notorious traitors. Agent Keaton is ordered to bring Shepherd out of confinement to help with stopping and capturing Tal and his network of spies when Tal strikes again three years later.
This show was very captivating with it's pilot episode and it's premise, however it seemed very much ordinary despite the good acting and performances from pretty good actors. I kept waiting for it to get better but it never really did. I think other similar shows are probably better or worth the time instead of this one. Maybe Blindspot or Blacklist or even FBI. It's a shame too because it was starting to grow on me when towards the end of the season the characters were really coming into their own in their quest to get the bad guy. Also it got cancelled after first season. I give it a (5/10).
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010) in Movies
Dec 18, 2020
It revolves around a British company drilling into the mountain Korvatunturi in Lapland, hoping to find a legendary gravesite. A local child Pietari spies on proceedings, and is convinced that this company have found the grave of the original Santa Claus, not the jolly red and white icon that everyone is familiar with, but the proper monstrous version spoken about in fairtytales in Piertari's books. This being a child centric horror, of course no one believes him, until all the other children in the village start to go missing, and shit starts going sideways.
Rare Exports strengths lies in its strong cast. Greta performances from Onni Tommila and Jorma Tommila (father and son in both the film, and real life, just for that extra layer of believability!) The pair, alongside the supporting cast keep everything pretty grounded, despite the absurdity going on around them.
The film's dialogue is largely in Finnish, and this coupled with it's sparse and snowy setting, lend the narrative a truly otherworldly but authentic feeling.
It's also effectively creepy, especially the skinny old man "Santa" that the group capture and cage up. The need to figure out what is really going on never lets up either, even as the plot flies towards it's increasingly WTF climax (there's a silly amount of dong by the way, just FYI).
Rare Exports is certainly worth a watch. It's delightfully barmy, and is a great tonic if you become weary of "traditional" Christmas movies. 🎅
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2200 KP) rated City Spies in Books
Jun 7, 2020
I saw this new series debut recommended by another author I love, and I’m so glad I did. This middle grade book is fast paced. We get plenty of set up, but everything is introduced as part of the story, so it never slows things down. Once the mission begins, the pace picks up even more, and I couldn’t put the book down. Some of the elements are a little over the top, but I just reminded myself this is a spy story and got right back into the book. We don’t get to know all the characters well yet, but we definitely saw some growth in Sara and a few others, and what we saw of them is great. There are some truly heartwarming moments as well as moments that made me laugh. This is a fantastic middle grade book for readers of all ages.
A Column of Fire
Book
The saga that has enthralled the millions of readers of The Pillars of the Earth and World Without...
Fiction
The Scientist and the Spy: A True Story of China, the FBI, and Industrial Espionage
Book
In September 2011, sheriff's deputies in Iowa encountered three ethnic Chinese men near a field...
Cunning Women
Book
When it is no longer safe to be a witch, they call themselves cunning. 1620s Lancashire. Away...
Historical fiction Witches Witchcraft Gothic 17th century England
The Lost Girls of Paris
Book
From the author of the runaway bestseller The Orphan’s Tale comes a remarkable story of friendship...
Mr. Churchill's Secretary (Maggie Hope Mystery, #1)
Book
London, 1940. Winston Churchill has just been sworn in, war rages across the Channel, and the threat...