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BookwormMama14 (18 KP) rated The Apothecary's Daughter in Books
Jan 2, 2019
Although it has been a couple years since I read this one, I am still very fond of it and have determined that I need to reread it SOON! Hopefully I can find the time before too long.
(Original review published on Bookworm Mama 11/2014.)
The Apothecary’s Daughter is a wonderful story beginning in 1810, England. Within the pages you will find heartbreak and romance, hope and despair, sorrow and joy. But above all...Faith.
Lillian (Lilly) Haswell is the daughter of the village apothecary in Wiltshire, England. She longs for adventure and a life outside of her father’s shop. Her mother left when she was younger and Lilly dreams of the adventures she might be having and longs to follow after her. Yet she is devoted to her father and her brother, Charlie. When Lilly is whisked away to London by her Aunt and Uncle Elliot, she believes all of her dreams are about to come true. Balls, admirers, the chance to marry a wealthy man and settle in London, but also the chance to look for her mother. Following a sad series of events, she has to return home to help her father run his shop, or risk having it closed. One of her admirers follows her home, but finds that he is not the only one interested in Miss Haswell.
While women were allowed to assist and work in apothecary shops, they were forbidden from diagnosing and prescribing treatments. It is not long before she has to cross the line of the law. Will grace and mercy be shown? Or will this be the end of Haswell’s once and for all? Along her journey Lilly loses herself, but in the end finds who she is and what she truly longs for in life. Throughout her trials and struggles she learns how to depend on the Lord for strength and wisdom.
Julie Klassen's novels are long and full of detail and she draws me in until I am completely obsessed with the story! I really enjoyed learning about the different herbs and their uses, apothecary. I found it all quite fascinating. I adore historical fiction, especially set in England. I was able to truly taste life in the early 1800s through this book. In a lot of ways I could relate to Lilly as well. I have left “home” twice in my life, living adventurously. But my heart was never at peace until I returned.
I borrowed The Apothecary's Daughter from my local library. I was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
(Original review published on Bookworm Mama 11/2014.)
The Apothecary’s Daughter is a wonderful story beginning in 1810, England. Within the pages you will find heartbreak and romance, hope and despair, sorrow and joy. But above all...Faith.
Lillian (Lilly) Haswell is the daughter of the village apothecary in Wiltshire, England. She longs for adventure and a life outside of her father’s shop. Her mother left when she was younger and Lilly dreams of the adventures she might be having and longs to follow after her. Yet she is devoted to her father and her brother, Charlie. When Lilly is whisked away to London by her Aunt and Uncle Elliot, she believes all of her dreams are about to come true. Balls, admirers, the chance to marry a wealthy man and settle in London, but also the chance to look for her mother. Following a sad series of events, she has to return home to help her father run his shop, or risk having it closed. One of her admirers follows her home, but finds that he is not the only one interested in Miss Haswell.
While women were allowed to assist and work in apothecary shops, they were forbidden from diagnosing and prescribing treatments. It is not long before she has to cross the line of the law. Will grace and mercy be shown? Or will this be the end of Haswell’s once and for all? Along her journey Lilly loses herself, but in the end finds who she is and what she truly longs for in life. Throughout her trials and struggles she learns how to depend on the Lord for strength and wisdom.
Julie Klassen's novels are long and full of detail and she draws me in until I am completely obsessed with the story! I really enjoyed learning about the different herbs and their uses, apothecary. I found it all quite fascinating. I adore historical fiction, especially set in England. I was able to truly taste life in the early 1800s through this book. In a lot of ways I could relate to Lilly as well. I have left “home” twice in my life, living adventurously. But my heart was never at peace until I returned.
I borrowed The Apothecary's Daughter from my local library. I was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Futurama: Bender's Game (2008) in Movies
Aug 14, 2019
The third of the straight to DVD Futurama movies, “Futurama: Bender’s Game” has arrived and continues the winning formula of the television series and two previous films.
This time the film starts out as a standard episode rather than continue the events of the past film. In true Futurama style, there are references to past characters and pop culture gags throughout. The early focus of the story is on the Dark Matter fuel shortage that is controlled by the greedy Mom and her corporation. Mom insists that prices are way up so she has to charge more for the precious starship fuel, but avoids any questions related to her record profits related to the ever rising fuel prices.
With the rising fuel costs the Planetary Express Office, is put on a very strict flight schedule that causes havoc amongst the crew. Fry (Billy West), still drifts aimlessly about life, Amy (Lauren Tom) is as shallow as ever and Leela (Katey Sagal), has an ager issue and is outfitted with a shock collar that jolts her whenever she loses her temper.
Bender (John Di Maggio), has a larger issue as he spots some of the staff children and their friends playing Dungeons and Dragons and wants to be a part of the action. It is learned that robots were not built for imagination so when Bender takes up the game and becomes the entity Titanius, he soon has a hard time distinguishing between reality and fantasy. Combine this with Leela’s entry of the Planet Express ship into a Demo Derby and you get a premise ripe with laughter.
The story shifts into high gear when Professor Farnsworth (Billy West), decides to use his anti-backwards crystal to end his old flame Moms hold on the fuel industry. The Crew make a startling discovery as they battle mom, and thanks to the power of the crystal and Bender, find themselves in a strange medieval world where each of them has new identities in this alternate universe.
In a race against time, the Planet Express staff must not only survive the alternate universe, but defeat Mom and her plans for universal domination.
With sharp picture and sound, this is a very enjoyable new adventure for fans.
There are loads of extras which include deleted scenes, commentaries, and a look at the next film “Into The Wild Green Yonder”.
All in all a welcome and satisfying film that should delight fans and help keep us happy until the new film arrives next year.
This time the film starts out as a standard episode rather than continue the events of the past film. In true Futurama style, there are references to past characters and pop culture gags throughout. The early focus of the story is on the Dark Matter fuel shortage that is controlled by the greedy Mom and her corporation. Mom insists that prices are way up so she has to charge more for the precious starship fuel, but avoids any questions related to her record profits related to the ever rising fuel prices.
With the rising fuel costs the Planetary Express Office, is put on a very strict flight schedule that causes havoc amongst the crew. Fry (Billy West), still drifts aimlessly about life, Amy (Lauren Tom) is as shallow as ever and Leela (Katey Sagal), has an ager issue and is outfitted with a shock collar that jolts her whenever she loses her temper.
Bender (John Di Maggio), has a larger issue as he spots some of the staff children and their friends playing Dungeons and Dragons and wants to be a part of the action. It is learned that robots were not built for imagination so when Bender takes up the game and becomes the entity Titanius, he soon has a hard time distinguishing between reality and fantasy. Combine this with Leela’s entry of the Planet Express ship into a Demo Derby and you get a premise ripe with laughter.
The story shifts into high gear when Professor Farnsworth (Billy West), decides to use his anti-backwards crystal to end his old flame Moms hold on the fuel industry. The Crew make a startling discovery as they battle mom, and thanks to the power of the crystal and Bender, find themselves in a strange medieval world where each of them has new identities in this alternate universe.
In a race against time, the Planet Express staff must not only survive the alternate universe, but defeat Mom and her plans for universal domination.
With sharp picture and sound, this is a very enjoyable new adventure for fans.
There are loads of extras which include deleted scenes, commentaries, and a look at the next film “Into The Wild Green Yonder”.
All in all a welcome and satisfying film that should delight fans and help keep us happy until the new film arrives next year.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated The Favourite (2018) in Movies
Jan 24, 2019
Quirky and original with strong performances and direction
Greek Director Yorgos Lanthimos is the director of such quirky, bizarre comedy/dramas as DOGTOOTH, THE LOBSTER and KILLING OF A SACRED DEER and his latest, THE FAVOURITE is no different, so when it was nominated for 10 Oscars, I thought I'd better go see what all the fuss was all about.
And I'm glad I did for THE FAVOURITE is a biting, funny, sarcastic, bizarre, intense and interesting Royal Court drama about the inner workings, back channel dealings and backstabbing social climbing in Queen Anne's court in England in the early 18th Century as seen through Lanthimos' camera lens - a lens that is different indeed.
Starring Oscar winners Rachel Weisz (THE CONSTANT GARDNER) and Emma Stone (LA LA LAND) in their Oscar nominated turns as cousins who vie for the attentions of Queen Anne (Olivia Colman, also Oscar nominated), it is the rare film that features 3 strong women who play off each other well and where each one is a full character in and of themselves - all 3 with strengths and weaknesses that make them real and compelling and performed by 3 strong actresses. Needless to say that each Oscar nod is well deserved.
But the real star of this film is the sensibilities and camera work of Lanthimos. He uses unusual camera angles, unusual angles and bizarre imagery to show the unreality of the court in relation to the real world around them and is a commentary on these people as much as it shows the action on the screen. This film is an artist with a true, unique vision and is one that, while not for everyone, is one that worked for me.
Lanthimos layers on a rich tapestry of story (by Oscar nominated Screenplay writers Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara) locations (by Oscar nominated Production Designers Fijona Crombie and Alice Felton), Costumes (by Oscar nominated costumer Sandy Powell) , editing (by Oscar nominated Yorgos Mavropsaridis), Cinematography (by Oscar nominated Robbie Ryan) and performances, direction and film.
I think you get the point - this film has become (rightfully so) a darling of the Awards season and is well worth checking out - while this film is not entirely successful in what it attempts to do, it is fun to watch the attempt and the strong performances, characters, direction, costumes, cinematography, etc...which more than makes up for any shortcomings in the story (especially the final act of the film).
Letter Grade: B+
7 1/2 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(OfMarquis)
And I'm glad I did for THE FAVOURITE is a biting, funny, sarcastic, bizarre, intense and interesting Royal Court drama about the inner workings, back channel dealings and backstabbing social climbing in Queen Anne's court in England in the early 18th Century as seen through Lanthimos' camera lens - a lens that is different indeed.
Starring Oscar winners Rachel Weisz (THE CONSTANT GARDNER) and Emma Stone (LA LA LAND) in their Oscar nominated turns as cousins who vie for the attentions of Queen Anne (Olivia Colman, also Oscar nominated), it is the rare film that features 3 strong women who play off each other well and where each one is a full character in and of themselves - all 3 with strengths and weaknesses that make them real and compelling and performed by 3 strong actresses. Needless to say that each Oscar nod is well deserved.
But the real star of this film is the sensibilities and camera work of Lanthimos. He uses unusual camera angles, unusual angles and bizarre imagery to show the unreality of the court in relation to the real world around them and is a commentary on these people as much as it shows the action on the screen. This film is an artist with a true, unique vision and is one that, while not for everyone, is one that worked for me.
Lanthimos layers on a rich tapestry of story (by Oscar nominated Screenplay writers Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara) locations (by Oscar nominated Production Designers Fijona Crombie and Alice Felton), Costumes (by Oscar nominated costumer Sandy Powell) , editing (by Oscar nominated Yorgos Mavropsaridis), Cinematography (by Oscar nominated Robbie Ryan) and performances, direction and film.
I think you get the point - this film has become (rightfully so) a darling of the Awards season and is well worth checking out - while this film is not entirely successful in what it attempts to do, it is fun to watch the attempt and the strong performances, characters, direction, costumes, cinematography, etc...which more than makes up for any shortcomings in the story (especially the final act of the film).
Letter Grade: B+
7 1/2 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(OfMarquis)
Natacha (374 KP) rated Half a War (Shattered Sea, Book 3) in Books
Jan 13, 2020
My poor little heart! I think this is my favourite book in the trilogy. It's going to be hard to do a spoiler-free review so just in case: Might contain LIGHT SPOILERS
Things I liked:
-In book two on of my complaints was that the base of the story plot resembled a lot the story plot of the first one. Well, this one was completely different. This one is about different kingdoms coming together to defeat the enemy.
-I loved how the characters evolve in this book, more than the previous two. I love seeing Skara turned into a powerful Queen, I love seeing other character falling from hight. And Yarvi. Although it's not one of our main POV we see a lot of him and how much he has changed since book one.
-What I like in Abercrombie writing is that he right the relationship between characters in a way that they feel true to life. If two characters are not meant to be together for X or Y reason he will not come up with a plot or excuse to pair those characters just because this is what our heart wants. And I always appreciate that no matter how much it hurts.
-Raith! I loved this character so much. I have a sweet spot for bad boys that deep down are good. Especially when we get to see this side of them come out naturally.
-I rarely cry when reading books or watching movies, and I still didn't while reading this book but it did manage to make my heart feel sad. Well done!
-Raith and Skara. Oh, my little heart. I loved those two together.
-We got to see even more magic than book two!
-They where a couple of big twists that I didn't see coming. Especially the one with the traitor. Kept me guessing throughout the book and when we learn how it was I wasn't expecting it.
Things I didn't like
It was very hard to find things that I didn't like but here some nitpicking
-So you know how I said that I loved the plot twist with the traitor. I did I'm not taking it back but... If you look closely I feel like maybe there are some tiny plothole that I can't really discuss without spoiling everything.
-The elves. Although we see way more elf-magic we still don't really get a lot of information about them. At the end of this trilogy, a still feel that I wanted to know more about them.
Things I liked:
-In book two on of my complaints was that the base of the story plot resembled a lot the story plot of the first one. Well, this one was completely different. This one is about different kingdoms coming together to defeat the enemy.
-I loved how the characters evolve in this book, more than the previous two. I love seeing Skara turned into a powerful Queen, I love seeing other character falling from hight. And Yarvi. Although it's not one of our main POV we see a lot of him and how much he has changed since book one.
-What I like in Abercrombie writing is that he right the relationship between characters in a way that they feel true to life. If two characters are not meant to be together for X or Y reason he will not come up with a plot or excuse to pair those characters just because this is what our heart wants. And I always appreciate that no matter how much it hurts.
-Raith! I loved this character so much. I have a sweet spot for bad boys that deep down are good. Especially when we get to see this side of them come out naturally.
-I rarely cry when reading books or watching movies, and I still didn't while reading this book but it did manage to make my heart feel sad. Well done!
-Raith and Skara. Oh, my little heart. I loved those two together.
-We got to see even more magic than book two!
-They where a couple of big twists that I didn't see coming. Especially the one with the traitor. Kept me guessing throughout the book and when we learn how it was I wasn't expecting it.
Things I didn't like
It was very hard to find things that I didn't like but here some nitpicking
-So you know how I said that I loved the plot twist with the traitor. I did I'm not taking it back but... If you look closely I feel like maybe there are some tiny plothole that I can't really discuss without spoiling everything.
-The elves. Although we see way more elf-magic we still don't really get a lot of information about them. At the end of this trilogy, a still feel that I wanted to know more about them.
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Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Crank (2006) in Movies
Jun 26, 2020
Quick Pacing, Bad Movie
When a former hitman’s enemies inject him with a lethal poison that will stop his heart if it goes below an active rate, that hitman Chev Chelios is on a race to find the antidote while keeping his heart pumping at the same time.
Acting: 10
I could think of worse actors to play the role of Chev outside of Jason Statham. He seems like he was made for this type of movie. He brings a successful intensity to the role that kicks the movie into a new gear. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to save the film as a whole. While other performances didn’t necessarily warrant a 10, Chev is pretty much the entire centerpiece so I’m basing the score off Statham’s performance alone.
Beginning: 10
I honestly didn’t hate how the movie began. It actually gets off to a pretty fast start only to let me down later. If only I knew what I was getting myself into.
Characters: 1
Cinematography/Visuals: 7
For what' it’s worth, the film does a good job of making you feel like you are in Chelios’ shoes. The camera relies on close up shots and jarring movement when Chelios has to “charge up”. The action is also captured fairly well, giving you a true sense of being in the moment.
Conflict: 10
Consistent action abounds throughout the movie. In addition to Chelios kicking much ass, there’s also the matter of him trying to keep his heart pumping while he finds the antidote. There is more than enough conflict to drive the story.
Entertainment Value: 6
While there are flashes of greatness in Crank, much of it is hyped up hyperbole so extreme it makes the movie really hard to get into. I lost count of the number of times I rolled my eyes throughout the movie. What did intrigue me throughout was just how much crazier the movie could potentially get.
Memorability: 4
Pace: 10
Plot: 0
What a dumbass story. That is all.
Resolution: 6
I give it props for an inventive ending. However, it wasn’t a successful resolution in my opinion. We followed Chelios on this entire journey for it to come to this? Nah, just…nah.
Overall: 64
You could tell this movie was going to be a mess from the trailer. Surprisingly enough it has a positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes and it seems to have a cult following. I really don’t get it, even as an action lover. It’s a pass for me.
Acting: 10
I could think of worse actors to play the role of Chev outside of Jason Statham. He seems like he was made for this type of movie. He brings a successful intensity to the role that kicks the movie into a new gear. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to save the film as a whole. While other performances didn’t necessarily warrant a 10, Chev is pretty much the entire centerpiece so I’m basing the score off Statham’s performance alone.
Beginning: 10
I honestly didn’t hate how the movie began. It actually gets off to a pretty fast start only to let me down later. If only I knew what I was getting myself into.
Characters: 1
Cinematography/Visuals: 7
For what' it’s worth, the film does a good job of making you feel like you are in Chelios’ shoes. The camera relies on close up shots and jarring movement when Chelios has to “charge up”. The action is also captured fairly well, giving you a true sense of being in the moment.
Conflict: 10
Consistent action abounds throughout the movie. In addition to Chelios kicking much ass, there’s also the matter of him trying to keep his heart pumping while he finds the antidote. There is more than enough conflict to drive the story.
Entertainment Value: 6
While there are flashes of greatness in Crank, much of it is hyped up hyperbole so extreme it makes the movie really hard to get into. I lost count of the number of times I rolled my eyes throughout the movie. What did intrigue me throughout was just how much crazier the movie could potentially get.
Memorability: 4
Pace: 10
Plot: 0
What a dumbass story. That is all.
Resolution: 6
I give it props for an inventive ending. However, it wasn’t a successful resolution in my opinion. We followed Chelios on this entire journey for it to come to this? Nah, just…nah.
Overall: 64
You could tell this movie was going to be a mess from the trailer. Surprisingly enough it has a positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes and it seems to have a cult following. I really don’t get it, even as an action lover. It’s a pass for me.