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400 Years by Bold Forbes
400 Years by Bold Forbes
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
Beauty is a strange thing; here one day, gone the next. There is something about this song that feels permanent. Yeah maybe a mix this good shouldn't have such quality lyrics; maybe there shouldn't be violins without a quartet; maybe the lead vocal should be trying harder to sound like something we know already.

Bold Forbes finds a middle ground between Bob Dylan and Violent Femmes. The production is gorgeous. I needed this message. You might need it too.

“And while some swear that river did not used to run
There are others who scoff as they stand in the sun
Getting angry ‘cause anger is fun”
— Bold Forbes
it's not just about those who do wrong, and those who do right; there are also those who do nothing.

The answer? More love, more life. Right now.
  
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
1950 | Classics, Drama

"This is a film — and this is kind of going away from this relationship theme — but this is a film that, when I was little, I loved. I mean, I’ve loved it my whole life. I don’t know what that says about me, but I loved Sunset Boulevard. I was a big old-movie fan when I was, you know, older than most people should be when they’re older-movie fans. [Gloria Swanson is] just so spectacular in that film and it sort of formed my idea of that raw, dramatic acting. And the writing… The writing in that movie is unbelievable. So many incredible one-liners. It’s one of those movies that you can watch now and you’re just, like, “Damn, that was a good line,” you know? Like, God, that was some good writing back then. The thing is that movies written that way wouldn’t fit in, really, these days. It would sound strange, like you couldn’t really do it now. But thank God we have them."

Source
  
Bite Club (The Morganville Vampires, #10)
Bite Club (The Morganville Vampires, #10)
Rachel Caine | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.2 (9 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book does something brand new in the series -- Shane's point of view is alternated with Claire's point of view. It is a very good thing that Rachel Caine decides to do this, as I do not think that Claire could have gotten such a good understanding of the lure of the vampire-themed fight club that Shane gets involved with.
We not only get to see into Shane's head, but we also get a fuller understanding of his anger and hatred towards vampires, as well as his internal battle with accepting his sister's death, followed by his mother's death, and his father's abuse and fanaticism. Honestly, it is amazing that Shane has any sanity left at all, considering the life he has lived up to this point. Claire has been like a bright star in his life, and it would be a real tragedy if he were to ever lose her -- which does not look like it will be happening any time soon.
On the flip side, Shane's drastic change in behavior due to the fight club puts Claire's heart through the ringer several times throughout the book and has her considering and reconsidering just how much she really wants to stay in Morganville -- especially when M.I.T., her dream school, starts calling. Luckily, Claire has always been a force to be reckoned with in Morganville, and her instincts are always right on par. Only she can stand up to Amelie, the Founder of Morganville, and come away unscathed, even if barely.
If a vampire fight club is not bad enough to be worthy of a book, a certain "big bad" comes back from the figurative dead to wreak havoc and death. Of course, my favorite character, Myrnin makes the final battle interesting with a few new toys and unforgettable one-liners. His rivalry with the new brain behind the town security system, Frank Collins, provides some fresh entertainment, too. This series just keeps getting better, and I can't wait for the release of the next book, Last Breath.
  
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JT (287 KP) rated A Good Year (2006) in Movies

Mar 10, 2020  
A Good Year (2006)
A Good Year (2006)
2006 | Comedy, Drama, Romance
6
4.3 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
This is certainly not your conventional Ridley Scott film, but it’s one that was well shot but not very well written. Investment broker Max Skinner (Russell Crowe) knows only one thing, how to make money. But when he inherits his Uncle’s chateau in Provence where he spent much of his childhood he must decide between the life he has in London or the life in France.

After arriving in Provence the only thing on his mind is to sell, but with childhood memories floating all around him as well as women it’s not long before the predictable is happening.It provides enough and features some telling performances but it’s simply not funny enough to register as the comedy it so desperately strives to be. The film most notably reunited Scott with Crowe and their first foray into a romantic comedy, with not a great deal of success.

A Good Year has scenery could not be more fitting for a romantic comedy, and the picturesque winery is paramount to the beautiful shots it creates. However, at times it looks more like a car advert than a film.

On the comedy aspect there are a few small laughs but they fall flat as Crowe is not able to deliver on them, you wonder if Hugh Grant might have done a better job. Crowe’s upper class English accent is out of place against the free flowing French that is predominant throughout and he’d probably feel more at home with large sword in his hand as opposed to a wine bottle.

The introduction of Uncle Henry’s supposedly long lost daughter throws a complicated spanner in the works which does more harm than good. It’s a heartwarming tale and it will tug on the heart strings of all the old romantics out there, but Scott and Crowe have never made a romantic comedy before and it certainly shows. It’s not got the characteristics of a fine wine, but may get past some peoples tastes.