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Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated The Polaris Uprising (Polaris, #1) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
Another bystander review yet again. T_T But throughout the story, I was making connections – yet again – to movies and books:
Corsets – Incarceron. Mercifully no prisons.
Probe Bots – *that seriously cute voice from that one movie* Wall-E! Of course, those robots had inflection and it's not Wall-E's voice I'm calling cute.
Arranged Marriages – At the time I started The Polaris Uprising, I completed Delirium not too long ago and it turned out to be a TERRIBLE experience. Fortunately, this book fared better off and it's not similar to Delirium. *phew* In fact... this quote got me quite worried:
<blockquote>When you’re president, this will all be a distant memory.</blockquote>
Is this similar to "When you're cured, this will all be a distant memory" or what? I could have sworn I saw that exact same sentence in Delirium a million times maybe. O_O (Obviously I didn't let that stop me from continuing).
Truth Serum – Welcome to the Candor faction. Need I say more?
That one sentence before this: And then all hell broke loose – Similar to The Hunger Games, but different. And no, that's no spoiler. Close, but no.
<blockquote>Alanna! Alanna!</blockquote>
e_e 1984's B! B! B! That book was quite dreadful, so I'm surprised I still remember the letter B! (that was not me in exclamation).
Now that I've gone through my dreadful (and some positive) experiences with some dystopians, let's get on with some positive notes and why I gave The Polaris Uprising a high rating:
~ The message comes across clearly throughout the book. Maybe confusing at first (switching views from the prologue and first chapter), but everything fits in nicely later.
~ Here's the big plus: it's different from other dystopians. As in really different. How? It's like many years later, a dystopian AFTER another dystopian failed. At least, that's what I assume. The signs were there, which brings me to my next point.
~ Dare to be different. I would've had to choose a faction back in September if I were in Divergent (Movie's out in 28 DAYS). Here, you're an adult at 25. That gives me what? 7-8 years to be a semi-kid? Yippee.
~ This might actually take a different end from other dystopians. Of course, there's no guarantee, so don't take that word for granted.
But overall, an impressive debut novel for Jennifer Ibarra.
-----------------------
Review copy provided by the author for review on the blog tour
Formatting is lost due to copy and paste
This review and more can be found at <a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2014/02/blog-tour-the-polaris-uprising-by-jennifer-ibarra-review-and-giveaway.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
<a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gi5Rk5yLloA/UtliaUbdL3I/AAAAAAAACbE/J27z92_qrYU/s1600/Official+Banner.png"; /></a>
Corsets – Incarceron. Mercifully no prisons.
Probe Bots – *that seriously cute voice from that one movie* Wall-E! Of course, those robots had inflection and it's not Wall-E's voice I'm calling cute.
Arranged Marriages – At the time I started The Polaris Uprising, I completed Delirium not too long ago and it turned out to be a TERRIBLE experience. Fortunately, this book fared better off and it's not similar to Delirium. *phew* In fact... this quote got me quite worried:
<blockquote>When you’re president, this will all be a distant memory.</blockquote>
Is this similar to "When you're cured, this will all be a distant memory" or what? I could have sworn I saw that exact same sentence in Delirium a million times maybe. O_O (Obviously I didn't let that stop me from continuing).
Truth Serum – Welcome to the Candor faction. Need I say more?
That one sentence before this: And then all hell broke loose – Similar to The Hunger Games, but different. And no, that's no spoiler. Close, but no.
<blockquote>Alanna! Alanna!</blockquote>
e_e 1984's B! B! B! That book was quite dreadful, so I'm surprised I still remember the letter B! (that was not me in exclamation).
Now that I've gone through my dreadful (and some positive) experiences with some dystopians, let's get on with some positive notes and why I gave The Polaris Uprising a high rating:
~ The message comes across clearly throughout the book. Maybe confusing at first (switching views from the prologue and first chapter), but everything fits in nicely later.
~ Here's the big plus: it's different from other dystopians. As in really different. How? It's like many years later, a dystopian AFTER another dystopian failed. At least, that's what I assume. The signs were there, which brings me to my next point.
~ Dare to be different. I would've had to choose a faction back in September if I were in Divergent (Movie's out in 28 DAYS). Here, you're an adult at 25. That gives me what? 7-8 years to be a semi-kid? Yippee.
~ This might actually take a different end from other dystopians. Of course, there's no guarantee, so don't take that word for granted.
But overall, an impressive debut novel for Jennifer Ibarra.
-----------------------
Review copy provided by the author for review on the blog tour
Formatting is lost due to copy and paste
This review and more can be found at <a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2014/02/blog-tour-the-polaris-uprising-by-jennifer-ibarra-review-and-giveaway.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
<a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gi5Rk5yLloA/UtliaUbdL3I/AAAAAAAACbE/J27z92_qrYU/s1600/Official+Banner.png"; /></a>
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
In the 1st film Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne) move to the suburbs when they welcome an infant daughter into their lives name Stella (Zoey Vargas). All goes well with the couple, until Delta Psi Beta fraternity moves in next door. The fraternity leader Teddy (Zac Efron) aspires to join Delta Psi’s Hall of Fame by throwing a massive end of the year party, which end up shutting down the fraternity once and for all.
In the sequel, a few years after Mac and Kelly, pregnant with their second baby, are preparing to sell their house, when another couple agrees to take their property off their hands with one condition 30 days to inspect the house and make sure that everything is up to snuff. Unfortunately there is some bad news; the new tenants of the house next door are going to be louder than the previous ones.
The freshmen, Beth (Kiersey Clemons), Nora (Beanie Feldstein) and Shelby (Chloe Grace Moretz) tried joining to one of their school sororities, but found out that only the fraternities are allow to throw parties, and when they do the girls are victims of constant harassment, the drinks are spiked and the guys trying to have sex with them every minute even if is consensual or not. So Beth, Nora and Shelby decide to start their own sorority, Kappa Nu, where the girls don’t have to dress to impress, where they embrace self-respect and partying hard as a show of defiance.
The member of Kappa Nu are Mac and Kelly’s new neighbors, who are not very pleased about it, but when Mac ask them to keep quiet during the escrow period, he becomes just another man telling them what to do, so the war begins.
Neighbors 2 is uproariously funny, ridiculous and almost breathtaking dirty providing a successful attempt to have a great sequel. Being able to watch Zac Efron shirtless and wearing short shorts for prolonged periods of time is always a plus. It is hard to believe than nine years ago Seth Rogen was the chubby stoner with a terrible idea for a porn site in Knocked up and now He is the father of the year. Although I think that it is a shame that ,LLCoolJ ,didn’t make it to the final cut as was shown in the trailer, but I have to admit it was a nice touch having Zoey Vargas playing Stella for the second time, she is adorable. I only can say you’ll laugh if you’re young, you’ll laugh if you’re old, there is plenty of jokes and many disgusting and strong visual gags, and I loved it.
In the sequel, a few years after Mac and Kelly, pregnant with their second baby, are preparing to sell their house, when another couple agrees to take their property off their hands with one condition 30 days to inspect the house and make sure that everything is up to snuff. Unfortunately there is some bad news; the new tenants of the house next door are going to be louder than the previous ones.
The freshmen, Beth (Kiersey Clemons), Nora (Beanie Feldstein) and Shelby (Chloe Grace Moretz) tried joining to one of their school sororities, but found out that only the fraternities are allow to throw parties, and when they do the girls are victims of constant harassment, the drinks are spiked and the guys trying to have sex with them every minute even if is consensual or not. So Beth, Nora and Shelby decide to start their own sorority, Kappa Nu, where the girls don’t have to dress to impress, where they embrace self-respect and partying hard as a show of defiance.
The member of Kappa Nu are Mac and Kelly’s new neighbors, who are not very pleased about it, but when Mac ask them to keep quiet during the escrow period, he becomes just another man telling them what to do, so the war begins.
Neighbors 2 is uproariously funny, ridiculous and almost breathtaking dirty providing a successful attempt to have a great sequel. Being able to watch Zac Efron shirtless and wearing short shorts for prolonged periods of time is always a plus. It is hard to believe than nine years ago Seth Rogen was the chubby stoner with a terrible idea for a porn site in Knocked up and now He is the father of the year. Although I think that it is a shame that ,LLCoolJ ,didn’t make it to the final cut as was shown in the trailer, but I have to admit it was a nice touch having Zoey Vargas playing Stella for the second time, she is adorable. I only can say you’ll laugh if you’re young, you’ll laugh if you’re old, there is plenty of jokes and many disgusting and strong visual gags, and I loved it.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated No Escape (2015) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Full disclosure…I am not a fan of Owen Wilson. In fact, I have down right loathed him since I first saw him in Armageddon. In my opinion, he always plays an annoying, somewhat exaggerated and not very funny character. To make things worse, No Escape is a non-comedy, non-quirky, straight man Owen Wilson film. Seems like a terrible idea. Still, the trailer intrigued me because I wanted to see if Wilson had any range to be a “normal action” character for once or would he continue to live up to my low expectations of him.
Surprisingly, I enjoyed him in this performance greatly. Wilson plays a father who uproots his wife Annie (Lake Bell) and their two little girls and moves them to Southeast Asia to work on a project to bring clean drinking water to the country and provide a better life for his family. However shortly after arrival, the family finds themselves in the middle of a violent political uprising they do not understand nor have any idea why it is happening and must somehow find sanctuary and escape this foreign city where Americans are being executed on sight. The film is intense. As soon as the coup begins, we are taken on a ride of constant tension and emotion, broken up with quiet moments where Wilson uses “dad humor” to comfort his family. Wilson shines in these moments because his “lame Dad humor” is not only believable, but his demeanor throughout the film is realistic and loving. His chemistry with his cast mates is stellar as the family all deliver solid performances and you can believe they are an actual family.
As they are moving through the city they come across a familiar face in Pierce Brosnan who plays some kind of mercenary ex-agent type. Brosnan’s screen time is short but he steals every scene he is in. He also gives an explanation, though simple, of what is going on and how the family can find safety. Critics of this film may fault it for glossing over a real world issue of western colonialism and no attempt to humanize the plight of the locals, however for me at least, this film isn’t trying to tell a giant story, but rather a far simpler one which is about family. Additionally, the trailers for this film present it as more of an action film, which it is not.
In the end we are left with a frightening atmosphere where we constantly might ask ourselves what we would do in that situation. The strength of this film is the family dynamic and the strong performances that give them life. Though the film mostly ignores a real world issue, it delivers a thrilling fast paced ride from almost start to finish.
Surprisingly, I enjoyed him in this performance greatly. Wilson plays a father who uproots his wife Annie (Lake Bell) and their two little girls and moves them to Southeast Asia to work on a project to bring clean drinking water to the country and provide a better life for his family. However shortly after arrival, the family finds themselves in the middle of a violent political uprising they do not understand nor have any idea why it is happening and must somehow find sanctuary and escape this foreign city where Americans are being executed on sight. The film is intense. As soon as the coup begins, we are taken on a ride of constant tension and emotion, broken up with quiet moments where Wilson uses “dad humor” to comfort his family. Wilson shines in these moments because his “lame Dad humor” is not only believable, but his demeanor throughout the film is realistic and loving. His chemistry with his cast mates is stellar as the family all deliver solid performances and you can believe they are an actual family.
As they are moving through the city they come across a familiar face in Pierce Brosnan who plays some kind of mercenary ex-agent type. Brosnan’s screen time is short but he steals every scene he is in. He also gives an explanation, though simple, of what is going on and how the family can find safety. Critics of this film may fault it for glossing over a real world issue of western colonialism and no attempt to humanize the plight of the locals, however for me at least, this film isn’t trying to tell a giant story, but rather a far simpler one which is about family. Additionally, the trailers for this film present it as more of an action film, which it is not.
In the end we are left with a frightening atmosphere where we constantly might ask ourselves what we would do in that situation. The strength of this film is the family dynamic and the strong performances that give them life. Though the film mostly ignores a real world issue, it delivers a thrilling fast paced ride from almost start to finish.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Friended To Death (2014) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Actress turned filmmaker Sarah Smick might well be the next Nicole Sullivan should fortune smile upon her. Not many people will have seen her debut film, Old Souls, but if Friended to Death is any indication, she shows that she has the chops to create satire. Although her second film is not entirely perfect, it shows that she does have a lot to say in a screenplay that examines friendship in the real life sense.
Ryan Hansen (Zach McGowan, Veronica Mars) is a terrific actor, and he plays the perfect narcissistic jerk. As Michael Harris, he’s unsympathetic to everyone he knows, including his new mate Emil (Zach McGowan, Shameless) whom he treats poorly.
Harris is more obsessive with telling his Facebook friends what is going on in his day-to-day life. But when he gets fired from his job as a traffic cop, just what does he do next? He definitely does not go crying to his mom about it. Instead, he hatches a plot to fake his death (with the help of Emil) and look online to see who will miss him.
No one. This movie is not about saying how terrible and unsympathetic people are. Instead, it reveals that one can not treat social media as the end all be all of how relationships are defined. The screenplay is well thought out to show a hyperbole of extremes. Harris is more obsessed with what is said online than in person. At the same time, Harris does not realize that Emil is helping him despite his many reservations. He does not realize that he does have a friend who is doing his best to pull that stick out of Harris’ ass, but the further in it goes, more problems arises.
However, social media has its uses. It has a purpose in the world of business, but in society, that’s another question. When Harris uses it as his lifeblood and measure of his worth, maybe what he needs is a reality check (with perhaps a sociologist/psychologist to treat him).
The underlying themes of what this film examines is great, but sadly the execution is hit and miss. Unless viewers can actually care for the protagonist, the reason to continue watching will depend on either wanting to see how Harris’ life will pan out or wondering who the comely women in red (Sarah Smick) is involved in this plot. As Sylvie, this woman has a beef to settle with Harris, and to watch how that pans out is almost as nutty as watching an episode of MadTV. This subplot actually carries this movie a lot more, and it has all the meat to make watching this movie all the more interesting.
Ryan Hansen (Zach McGowan, Veronica Mars) is a terrific actor, and he plays the perfect narcissistic jerk. As Michael Harris, he’s unsympathetic to everyone he knows, including his new mate Emil (Zach McGowan, Shameless) whom he treats poorly.
Harris is more obsessive with telling his Facebook friends what is going on in his day-to-day life. But when he gets fired from his job as a traffic cop, just what does he do next? He definitely does not go crying to his mom about it. Instead, he hatches a plot to fake his death (with the help of Emil) and look online to see who will miss him.
No one. This movie is not about saying how terrible and unsympathetic people are. Instead, it reveals that one can not treat social media as the end all be all of how relationships are defined. The screenplay is well thought out to show a hyperbole of extremes. Harris is more obsessed with what is said online than in person. At the same time, Harris does not realize that Emil is helping him despite his many reservations. He does not realize that he does have a friend who is doing his best to pull that stick out of Harris’ ass, but the further in it goes, more problems arises.
However, social media has its uses. It has a purpose in the world of business, but in society, that’s another question. When Harris uses it as his lifeblood and measure of his worth, maybe what he needs is a reality check (with perhaps a sociologist/psychologist to treat him).
The underlying themes of what this film examines is great, but sadly the execution is hit and miss. Unless viewers can actually care for the protagonist, the reason to continue watching will depend on either wanting to see how Harris’ life will pan out or wondering who the comely women in red (Sarah Smick) is involved in this plot. As Sylvie, this woman has a beef to settle with Harris, and to watch how that pans out is almost as nutty as watching an episode of MadTV. This subplot actually carries this movie a lot more, and it has all the meat to make watching this movie all the more interesting.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Side Effects (2013) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
Steven Soderbergh has been toying with the notion of retirement for a couple of years now, and has said that “Side Effects” will be his final film. I certainly hope not.
As its title intones, “Side Effects” is a movie about what can happen when prescription medications, such as anti-depressants, can do at their worst, leading to anyone who taking them wishing they weren’t. The movie certainly starts out looking like a propaganda-film about how Doctor’s push these drugs onto patients as they are paid by pharmaceutical representatives to test their drugs. It seems that everyone in the film is taking meds of some form or another. The cast for the film should be a recipe for success: Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Channing Tatum. But because of this perception, the first two-thirds of the film nearly put me to sleep. And then a twist happened that the made the plot extremely complex and worth watching. In many ways, the less said about “Side Effects,” the better. This may produce a better experience for you than I had. But here’s the basic idea of the movie:
Emily Taylor, played by Rooney Mara, is introduced when she is visiting her husband Martin (Tatum), a man convicted of insider trading who is about to be released after four years behind bars. Martin’s discharge happens uneventfully, but adjusting to the new life of poverty rehashes the depression that first plagued Emily when her husband’s prison term started. This leads to Emily crashing her car head-on into the wall of the garage in her apartment building. While in the hospital, rules force her to see psychiatrist Jonathan Banks (Law).
Up until this point, I had trouble connecting with Mara’s character. While it is revealed that she had mental problems prior to this episode, you don’t really completely grasp what it is until later in the movie. Mara seemed to be very stiff, and way too much like her emotionless character from “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” But then we enter Jude Law. Law’s character, Banks, is friendly, approachable and caring. He is what first drew me deeper into the movie. Though, you soon discover that he is a doctor who believes in the power of drugs. This character kept me interested because I couldn’t quite nail if he was going to be an antagonist or protagonist.
Of course our dear Dr. Banks prescribes some medications to Emily and she begins showing some disturbing side effects and… The side effects lead to really terrible, bloody things which ruins careers, lives, and even drive people to madness. Or does it?
As its title intones, “Side Effects” is a movie about what can happen when prescription medications, such as anti-depressants, can do at their worst, leading to anyone who taking them wishing they weren’t. The movie certainly starts out looking like a propaganda-film about how Doctor’s push these drugs onto patients as they are paid by pharmaceutical representatives to test their drugs. It seems that everyone in the film is taking meds of some form or another. The cast for the film should be a recipe for success: Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Channing Tatum. But because of this perception, the first two-thirds of the film nearly put me to sleep. And then a twist happened that the made the plot extremely complex and worth watching. In many ways, the less said about “Side Effects,” the better. This may produce a better experience for you than I had. But here’s the basic idea of the movie:
Emily Taylor, played by Rooney Mara, is introduced when she is visiting her husband Martin (Tatum), a man convicted of insider trading who is about to be released after four years behind bars. Martin’s discharge happens uneventfully, but adjusting to the new life of poverty rehashes the depression that first plagued Emily when her husband’s prison term started. This leads to Emily crashing her car head-on into the wall of the garage in her apartment building. While in the hospital, rules force her to see psychiatrist Jonathan Banks (Law).
Up until this point, I had trouble connecting with Mara’s character. While it is revealed that she had mental problems prior to this episode, you don’t really completely grasp what it is until later in the movie. Mara seemed to be very stiff, and way too much like her emotionless character from “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” But then we enter Jude Law. Law’s character, Banks, is friendly, approachable and caring. He is what first drew me deeper into the movie. Though, you soon discover that he is a doctor who believes in the power of drugs. This character kept me interested because I couldn’t quite nail if he was going to be an antagonist or protagonist.
Of course our dear Dr. Banks prescribes some medications to Emily and she begins showing some disturbing side effects and… The side effects lead to really terrible, bloody things which ruins careers, lives, and even drive people to madness. Or does it?
JK
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