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Changing Difference
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Translated by CAROLYN SHREAD In the post-feminist age the fact that woman' finds herself deprived of...
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated We Summon the Darkness (2019) in Movies
Jan 5, 2021
This is fun but there's no reason it shouldn't be gorier, crazier, more inventive, and/or more insightful given the film's insanely clever choice to frame a horror/slasher flick through the lens of religious sects vs. metal culture in the 80s - but I digress, perfectly serviceable fluff trash as it stands. Daddario is awesome in it, and I just can't get enough of Knoxville as a deliciously fire-and-brimstone pastor. I at least appreciate the formality - I'm glad this wasn't an obnoxiously meta "hey, remember this?" nostalgia soundboard like droves of films or shows detrimentally feel the need to become whenever they're set in the 80s now. But at the same time, there's so much potential for super bombastic kills and nuanced commentary that never was, and in their place it just tends to lumber for no real reason. Otherwise entertaining solely on principle, with another dependably cool score from Timothy Williams keeping things entertaining. And yes the twist is as righteous as everyone says. Not going to shake a stick at the amount of blood, enjoyment, and amped-up performances this does end up delivering - it's a decent little throwback slasher on its own - but God could you imagine if like Adam Wingard had made this? Holy hell what a picture that would have been.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Sakho & Mangane in TV
Feb 17, 2021
Completely bonkers Senegalese cop show. Stern, serious veteran Sakho is forced to team up with young Mangane, who is a bit of a rogue. 'I work alone!' they cry in outraged unison: but the captain decrees otherwise. So for a few episodes they tackle cases in traditional police-procedural style, albeit with an African twist (sample dialogue: 'must have been a ritual killing, his balls have been cut off').
Then, halfway through the season and with virtually no warning, a villain with magic powers turns up, one of the characters likewise reveals he has occult abilities, and from this point on the show is stuffed with demons, zombies, evil magicians, strange cults, and so on: the police captain is told that rather than an elite crime task force, she's now running a secret paranormal investigation squad (not that she bothers to tell anyone on the team).
To say it's wrong-footing is a serious understatement, and I would love to know what was going on behind the scenes on this show (it's like Starsky and Hutch turns into The X Files mid-run), but it's colourful and pacy with interesting characters (I particularly enjoyed the perpetually-wasted police pathologist). The quality control, script-wise, is a bit iffy in places, but it obviously scores very highly on the 'what the hell am I watching...?' front.
Then, halfway through the season and with virtually no warning, a villain with magic powers turns up, one of the characters likewise reveals he has occult abilities, and from this point on the show is stuffed with demons, zombies, evil magicians, strange cults, and so on: the police captain is told that rather than an elite crime task force, she's now running a secret paranormal investigation squad (not that she bothers to tell anyone on the team).
To say it's wrong-footing is a serious understatement, and I would love to know what was going on behind the scenes on this show (it's like Starsky and Hutch turns into The X Files mid-run), but it's colourful and pacy with interesting characters (I particularly enjoyed the perpetually-wasted police pathologist). The quality control, script-wise, is a bit iffy in places, but it obviously scores very highly on the 'what the hell am I watching...?' front.
Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Guest Book in Books
May 30, 2021
This is the first time reading this author and likely won't be the last as this was an enjoyable and easy read.
Grace and Charles are on their way to St Ives to start their honeymoon when disaster strikes and they are stranded in the small seaside town of Saltwater; with there being few available rooms left, they have to book in to the run-down bed and breakfast, The Anchorage, and which is where the creepiness starts.
This is a story that is full of atmosphere which is excellently captured from start to finish. You can feel the weird vibe jumping out of the pages from not only the strange owners of The Anchorage but from the town itself and its inhabitants. You know something's not quite right but you struggle to put your finger on it and this builds the tension however, and it's a big however, it didn't really end as good as it started; it just seemed to fizzle out unfortunately and I didn't get that sense of satisfaction or pleasure when the "twist" was revealed.
Despite the disappointing conclusion, I did enjoy reading it and will seek out more of C.L. Pattison's work in the future.
Many thanks to Random House UK, Vintage and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
Grace and Charles are on their way to St Ives to start their honeymoon when disaster strikes and they are stranded in the small seaside town of Saltwater; with there being few available rooms left, they have to book in to the run-down bed and breakfast, The Anchorage, and which is where the creepiness starts.
This is a story that is full of atmosphere which is excellently captured from start to finish. You can feel the weird vibe jumping out of the pages from not only the strange owners of The Anchorage but from the town itself and its inhabitants. You know something's not quite right but you struggle to put your finger on it and this builds the tension however, and it's a big however, it didn't really end as good as it started; it just seemed to fizzle out unfortunately and I didn't get that sense of satisfaction or pleasure when the "twist" was revealed.
Despite the disappointing conclusion, I did enjoy reading it and will seek out more of C.L. Pattison's work in the future.
Many thanks to Random House UK, Vintage and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
Reggie Watts recommended It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) in Movies (curated)
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated 21 Bridges (2019) in Movies
Sep 10, 2020
I found 21 Bridges to be a pretty entertaining action flick, even if it is a relatively predictable straight shooter.
The narrative revolves around two small time criminals gunning down 8 police officers during an escalated robbery, causing the whole of Manhattan to shut down as the NYPD hunt them before they can flee the city.
Like any cop thriller worth it's salt, it's of course not that simple, and has some twists and turns along the way. This is probably the main issue I had with 21 Bridges - the twist is easy to see from a mile off, and the pretty standard action sequences means that it doesn't particularly elevate itself above the competition.
The strengths here lie in the cast. Chadwick Boseman is a brilliant lead as detective Andre Davis, who is heading up the entire investigation. Stephan James is also great as Michael, one of the robbers. He's a man completely out of his depth, and is a sympathetic "antagonist". There are also some decent turns from J.K. Simmons, Sienna Miller, Taylor Kitsch, and Keith David.
All of the performances keep 21 Bridges pretty grounded for an action film, it's more of a thriller in that respect.
I'd say it's worth a watch, you could certainly do a lot worse when it comes to New York cop dramas.
The narrative revolves around two small time criminals gunning down 8 police officers during an escalated robbery, causing the whole of Manhattan to shut down as the NYPD hunt them before they can flee the city.
Like any cop thriller worth it's salt, it's of course not that simple, and has some twists and turns along the way. This is probably the main issue I had with 21 Bridges - the twist is easy to see from a mile off, and the pretty standard action sequences means that it doesn't particularly elevate itself above the competition.
The strengths here lie in the cast. Chadwick Boseman is a brilliant lead as detective Andre Davis, who is heading up the entire investigation. Stephan James is also great as Michael, one of the robbers. He's a man completely out of his depth, and is a sympathetic "antagonist". There are also some decent turns from J.K. Simmons, Sienna Miller, Taylor Kitsch, and Keith David.
All of the performances keep 21 Bridges pretty grounded for an action film, it's more of a thriller in that respect.
I'd say it's worth a watch, you could certainly do a lot worse when it comes to New York cop dramas.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Come to Daddy (2019) in Movies
Oct 25, 2020 (Updated Nov 26, 2020)
Between this and the similarly experimental delirium of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘉𝘊𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, I'm convinced that Ant Timpson is onto something - I'm fine standing alone in really buying into his brand even though no one else seems to. I have the same major gripe here that I did with the latter movie though... cool it with the sex stuff, bro. It's funny a fair amount of times but not when it seems to be the only thing going on time after time after time after you'd already abandoned the enticing mystery of the first half way too abruptly. Otherwise this was awesome, the type of kooky but oh-so-lurid genre-bender that we used to see a lot of from 2011-2014 but sort of just dropped right off the planet at a certain point. One mega-mack daddy of a twist, rich visuals, a solid sense of humor, and all grounded by Elijah Wood's next-level performance (and intrinsically hilarious haircut). The first half is exquisitely tantalizing but it admittedly loses steam in the second half for me, which still has its assets in its own way of course (hey at least it's grisly). But none of that really matters too much because it wraps up on such a perfect moment. Flawed but *very* groovy.
Merissa (13409 KP) rated Hidden Gypsy Magic (A Witch’s Journey #3) in Books
Oct 27, 2020
According to Goodreads, Hidden Gypsy Magic is the third book in the Witch's Journey series and is a connection between the author's Lobster Cove series and this one. This made for some confusion as characters and events were mentioned that I had no prior knowledge of.
Brock and Gwen both have Hidden Gypsy Magic (hence the title) but this story takes you along as they find out just how that affects Brock. Gwen already knows about hers and uses it most days at the Sanctuary. Brock is in for some surprises when he takes Gwen to his family cabin and also when he buys a home in Salem.
This was an interesting story with a good twist regarding the Salem Witch Trials. I loved how the painting featured and changed in the story. This is a fast-paced story with a lot going on - from poachers to heiresses who want our main male - so you need to pay attention to exactly what is going on and when.
Steamy in some places but not so it overtakes the story, this was a read that I enjoyed and can recommend.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Brock and Gwen both have Hidden Gypsy Magic (hence the title) but this story takes you along as they find out just how that affects Brock. Gwen already knows about hers and uses it most days at the Sanctuary. Brock is in for some surprises when he takes Gwen to his family cabin and also when he buys a home in Salem.
This was an interesting story with a good twist regarding the Salem Witch Trials. I loved how the painting featured and changed in the story. This is a fast-paced story with a lot going on - from poachers to heiresses who want our main male - so you need to pay attention to exactly what is going on and when.
Steamy in some places but not so it overtakes the story, this was a read that I enjoyed and can recommend.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Crewel (Crewel World, #1) in Books
Jan 12, 2021
I haven't read and enjoyed a dystopian book in years but as this was a bargain £1, I decided to buy it.
It didn't immediately grab me but I kept reading hoping that something would pull me in. I started reading this towards the end of March and it's taken me until now to finish it..
The storyline was original with talented females - Spinsters - being able to weave the world around them with the best of them, the Creweler, getting raw materials that the Spinsters then use. We hear how Adelice, one of those talented females, was supposed to purposely fail her spinster test but instead aced it and now knows that the Guild will come to take her to the Coventry where she will begin training on how to weave.
The romance in this didn't grab me at all. I wasn't that bothered which guy she ended up with out of Erik and Jost. Neither really did it for me, though there was a surprising little twist at the end.
I just wanted to know what was happening in the higher up areas of the Guild and what everything was leading up to with Adelice. I wasn't all that surprised by how this book ended and I won't be reading the other two books in this series.
It didn't immediately grab me but I kept reading hoping that something would pull me in. I started reading this towards the end of March and it's taken me until now to finish it..
The storyline was original with talented females - Spinsters - being able to weave the world around them with the best of them, the Creweler, getting raw materials that the Spinsters then use. We hear how Adelice, one of those talented females, was supposed to purposely fail her spinster test but instead aced it and now knows that the Guild will come to take her to the Coventry where she will begin training on how to weave.
The romance in this didn't grab me at all. I wasn't that bothered which guy she ended up with out of Erik and Jost. Neither really did it for me, though there was a surprising little twist at the end.
I just wanted to know what was happening in the higher up areas of the Guild and what everything was leading up to with Adelice. I wasn't all that surprised by how this book ended and I won't be reading the other two books in this series.
Kate (493 KP) rated Mistress for Hire in Books
Sep 28, 2019
This book took me a couple of chapters to get into but once I did I really enjoyed it. It was not like other erotica type books I have read and it was a pleasant surprise.
The author kept me reading.
The only issues I found with this book was it was not set up well. The title kept being in the centre of the pages and the same with the author's name which made it hard to read as it didn't flow well because of this. Also the pages numbers were in the middle of lines which again were not in a line.
This book is definitely aimed at women, I'd say 20's and up.
I liked the twist on her last 'assignment' as I didn't expect it.
The blurb described the book well but it was definitely different to what I expected but in a good way. I had no idea it was going where it did when I first started reading the book. I never expected the main character's 'assignments' to be that.
I am really hoping there is a sequel to this book and if so I can't wait to read it.
Please note I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author via Voracious Readers Only.
The author kept me reading.
The only issues I found with this book was it was not set up well. The title kept being in the centre of the pages and the same with the author's name which made it hard to read as it didn't flow well because of this. Also the pages numbers were in the middle of lines which again were not in a line.
This book is definitely aimed at women, I'd say 20's and up.
I liked the twist on her last 'assignment' as I didn't expect it.
The blurb described the book well but it was definitely different to what I expected but in a good way. I had no idea it was going where it did when I first started reading the book. I never expected the main character's 'assignments' to be that.
I am really hoping there is a sequel to this book and if so I can't wait to read it.
Please note I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author via Voracious Readers Only.