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ClareR (6101 KP) rated The Great Alone in Books

Feb 6, 2018

The Great Alone

Kristin Hannah | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, Romance

8.5

(13 Ratings)

Book Rating

This was my second Kristin Hannah book, and it is set in very different circumstances to the last one (the last one was The Nightingale, set during World War 2). This is set during the 1970s in Alaska, in the back of beyond.
This is a story of survival: Leni and her mother survive the violence of Leni's Vietnam War vet father (who is suffering from PTSD after being held as a prisoner by the enemy). Cora, Leni's mother, will not leave him, saying that she loves him and needs him, and repeatedly pays the price. Leni loves Alaska and her boyfriend Matthew, but tragic circumstances take her away from both for a number of years. Many years later, under different circumstances, she is able to return.
I think I really like Kristin Hannah books. The way she describes the surroundings in Alaska: the wildness, the beauty, the unpredictability. I've read a couple of books recently set in the cold, snowy arctic circle, and this only made me want to actually see it myself even more!
I know I'm only two books in to my Kristin Hannah experience, but I can't say as there is anything about either of them that I didn't like. I'll be hunting down more!

Kudos

Andy K (10823 KP) rated First Blood (1982) in Movies

Jun 23, 2018 (Updated Jun 23, 2018)

First Blood (1982)

1982 | Action

8.2

(29 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

They drew First Blood, not me!

Sylvester Stallone will probably always be best remembered for his portrayal of boxer Rocky Balboa, but a close second is his role and character of troubled Vietnam War veteran John Rambo.

All he wanted to do was stop and settle in a small, rural town, but the local sheriff would have none of that. Rambo, the drifter, was arrested and booked for just wanting to have a hot meal somewhere. Thus, this is when the ordeal began. Rambo quickly escaped his captors as well as the police station and set forth a sequence of events, like a game of cat and mouse, whereas the authorities try to bring him back into custody.

After their initial attempt are unsuccessful they even try bringing in his former commanding officer, Colonel Trautman, to try and talk him in.

Stallone's portrayal of Rambo in First Blood shows real depth and emotion. Subsequent Rambo sequels show him as more of a huklish, strongman, badass, one man army, but First Blood shows his emotional scars come to the surface several times. You feel empathy for him and realize his actions were defensive and only used because of his intense training.

It's one of the great chase movies ever made.

Kudos

Vegas (725 KP) rated Hair (1979) in Movies

Nov 10, 2018

Hair (1979)

1979 | Comedy, Drama, Musical

7.7

(3 Ratings)

Movie Rating

The soundtrack (1 more)

The cast

Classic musical of the era

Claude Bukowski leaves Oklahoma for New York after being drafted to the army for Vietnam... He joins a hippie group of youngsters led by Berger, he
soon falls in love with Sheila before leaving the group for his new life in the army..

A great soundtrack with some memorable songs, backed up with some spectacular dance routines and settings make this a film you can enjoy more than once... It may have dated a bit over the years but the same can be said for some of the classic era musicals...

The initial feeling of annoyance that Berger left me with soon vanished and you do warm to the three main characters and to some extent the lesser members of the group...

It is a film about fun, freedom and most of all friendship and what you would do for your friends... I'm guessing the stage play it was based on was more of an anti war play, but the impression I got, maybe because so long has elapsed since it was written, is one of live for the moment, enjoy yourself while you can because you never know what is around the corner in life...

Kudos

Jordan Binkerd (567 KP) rated MASH (1970) in Movies

Jul 31, 2019

MASH (1970)

1970 | Comedy, Drama, War

7.9

(17 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Broke new comedy ground (3 more)

Biting social commentary

Excellent cast

Moderately funny

Less a plot than a loosely-connected set of escapades (2 more)

Not the show you remember

Some of the stuff the protagonists get up to is legitimately awful, and this shouldn't have been okay even in the 70s

Groundbreaking at the time, but unremarkable today

If you're looking into this on account of the TV show, don't bother. It's very different. An anti-Vietnam movie about Korea, MASH is a dark comedy that's moderately funny and broke new ground at the time, but there's not much to recommend it today. Worth seeing? Sure. But it's not necessarily deserving of its cult status.

Plus, the protagonists are legitimately despicable people. You're supposed to cheer for them against the by-the-book fuddy-duddies like Burns and "Hot Lips" Houlihan, but honestly? The scene where they pull up the sides of the shower tent and expose HLH mid-shower is a bit uncomfortable, made more so by her breakdown/rant next scene as she berates the unit Commander for letting them get away with crap like that - and she's not wrong. The protagonists deserve to be court martialed for this, but no consequences are ever leveled. Even for the 70s, that's messed up....