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AJaneClark (3975 KP) rated Midnight Sun (Twilight, #5) in Books
Aug 12, 2020
Twiliked it a lot
Four days after beginning this epic journey reliving my very early 20s it came to a close this evening after 759 pages...
Fans of The Twilight Saga will know this story well, but the retelling from the POV of Edward, is actually very eye opening.
Previous works by Meyer were rough around the edges, and not very polished, the language used not conveying the nature of such a largely followed saga... Midnight Sun is very well written, the language and style more mature. However I did find that there were too many pages per chapter, thus making “breaktimes” seem too far off...
I enjoyed the novel humanising the Cullen clan a little more, whilst still showing off their obvious vampiric differences! Not to mention being inside the head of someone who is typically in everyone else’s heads...
Fans of The Twilight Saga will know this story well, but the retelling from the POV of Edward, is actually very eye opening.
Previous works by Meyer were rough around the edges, and not very polished, the language used not conveying the nature of such a largely followed saga... Midnight Sun is very well written, the language and style more mature. However I did find that there were too many pages per chapter, thus making “breaktimes” seem too far off...
I enjoyed the novel humanising the Cullen clan a little more, whilst still showing off their obvious vampiric differences! Not to mention being inside the head of someone who is typically in everyone else’s heads...
99% Faking It
9.5
Rate It
Book
Lisa is a card-carrying, book-loving Gryffindor. Solid. And that’s why everyone knows she’s...
Cover To Cover Cafe Reviews
Sean Farrell (9 KP) rated The Blessings in Books
Mar 15, 2018
I had been hearing some positive things about this book around the library and so I decided to give it a read, not knowing what to really expect. It wound up being a very relatable and enjoyable book. There isn't really much by way of a plot, rather each chapter winds up being basically a short story about one member of a very close, extended Irish Catholic Philadelphia family over the course of several decades. They are all connected, and so answers that aren't necessarily provided during the course of one person's "story" wind up being provided during someone else's. Each character is both different enough from the others and fully fleshed-out enough to keep things interesting, and the choice to follow different people in each chapter makes it hard to guess where things may be heading next. There are certainly some surprises in store for members of the family throughout. Growing up with a large family that was very close makes many of the moments immediately resonate with me, and some of the problems faced throughout the course of the novel strike close to home as well. Still, the aforementioned lack of plot makes it feel somewhat uneventful when all is said and done. The Blessings do wind up being a great cast of characters though, and the family's unwavering love for and faith in each other no matter how much life throws at them is a joy to behold, and that alone makes this one of the better works of fiction you might run across this Summer.
HT
How the Mind Comes into Being: Introducing Cognitive Science from a Functional and Computational Perspective
Martin V. Butz and Esther F. Kutter
Book
More than 2000 years ago Greek philosophers were pondering the puzzling dichotomy between our...
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated Searching (2018) in Movies
May 14, 2019
Look deeper
#searching #searchingmovie is an extremely intense, clever & emotionally draining film that for a directorial debut is actually quite a remarkable achievement. I like #Johncho I feel he's one of those actors that really doesnt get enough time to truly shine, so with him being the star of searching its great to see him finally get to seriously act. He's just so extremely likable & within the first 10 minutes we are introduced to him & his #family so well that an instant #emotional connection to them is formed. Told entirely through a screen searching does a great job of creating suspense & tension by using the flaws/interface of things we have all become a custom to as neat little visual cues (eg just missing a call by a few seconds, waiting for a video to buffer, seeing someone go offline while talking to them or even typing what you want to say only to delete it & type something different). This works perfectly & is never boring keeping you on edge & invested throughout while also being eerily #beautiful at times. Themes of neglect, distrust, loss & #depression are present throughout & theres also a sad look at how although we are all so connected to one another nowadays the sad fact is we have never also been more alone & afraid to show who we really are or what we are really thinking. Different sides of #Socialmedia are also explored well here too & we are shown how it can not only be used to help but also to hinder & manipulate even in a serious case like this (as well as people using the case to gain thier own fame too). Story wise its good with all the plot twists constantly shocking & unexpected with great build up too. Characters all have great back story & are all played well by the cast. My only gripe was the pacing after the final twist as it not only felt rushed but a little exposition heavy too. If your looking for a #film thats going to give your #emotions a run you'll #love Searching, while its no #nocturnalanimals its still smart, well constructed, gripping & an extremely entertaining little #drama. #instagram #apple #catfish #weekend #odeon #odeonlimitless #filmbuff #filmreview #filmcritic #internet #trending #youtube #facebook #followers #like
Tim McGuire (301 KP) rated 1922 (2017) in Movies
Nov 2, 2019
Old Movie Revisited: 1922. Another sweet Netflix made Stephen King movie, within less than a month of Gerald's Game, another awesome sauce flick. This one brings back Thomas Jane into the King fold for at least the third time, a trend I hope he continues, seems to fit in well... a roll in the Dark Tower perhaps, well, isn't he already... In this one, taking place sometime before WW2 ;) we have farmer Wilfred James and his wife, Arlette, and son Henry. Now Arlette wants out of the midwest farm crap fest and move to the big city, sell the farm, get a divorce... Wilfred, well doesnt really seem to care about the divorce part, but losing the farm and Henry, cause of course the boy will go off with mommy, isnt going to happen. So what is a dad to do, duh, convince your 14 year old son to help murder your wife, invent a tale she ran off and expect everything to go well. You may have guessed, it doesn't... Hell, even little Henry becomes a outlaw. Good flick, bringing in some old Stephen King landmarks to tie in his universe a little tighter, takes place near Hemingford Home, where a few well known King characters hail from, big one being Abagail Freemantle, of The Stand... But more recently in theatres... IT, one little fat boy named Ben Hanscom also once roved it roads! Thomas Jane was awesome, if a Shining remake was ever in the works to be more true to the book, I'd love to see Mr. Jane as Jack, i think he'd be insane :) Filmbufftim on FB
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Gentleman's Guide To Vice And Virtue in Books
Jun 8, 2018
This was excellent! First, all the diversity here - between the bisexual main character, his best friend, who is biracial, has an "invisible" disability, and also likes men (or at least likes Monty!) and his seemingly asexual sister - the book covers so many facets, it's great.
Given that it's historical fiction, set in Victorian Europe, Percy's biracial heritage has him just seen as black to most people they encounter. Monty doesn't seem to understand what that means, most of the time, and is a little blinded by his rich white boy privilege. He gets talked to a couple of times about how he's being blind to the problems his friend is facing.
I liked that we got to peek under Monty's playboy facade a few times, when being punched has him flashing back to being beaten by his father for being a "disappointment." An interaction between him and a pirate captain was particularly sweet, teaching him to fight back because he's worth defending.
I LOVE Felicity, Monty's sister, and I'm really eager to read her story in the sequel to this book, The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy. She is so badass, and incredibly intelligent.
The writing was fun, the action well-paced, and the dialogue clever. I was a little put off at first by the size of the book, but I flew through it quickly. I especially liked Monty's bisexuality - how he just cheerfully perved on practically everyone his age. It definitely reminded me of a few people I know!
Something that I noted, near the end of the book, was Percy not asking Monty to stop his perving. What he said was "if you ever go behind my back..." which implies as long as Percy knows, it's not an issue. Yay for non-monogamy being present in YA! It's nice to see alternative relationship structures being presented, though I wish it had been more than just implied.
This was an excellent read for Pride Month, and I loved the amount of diversity and intersectionality present in it.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Given that it's historical fiction, set in Victorian Europe, Percy's biracial heritage has him just seen as black to most people they encounter. Monty doesn't seem to understand what that means, most of the time, and is a little blinded by his rich white boy privilege. He gets talked to a couple of times about how he's being blind to the problems his friend is facing.
I liked that we got to peek under Monty's playboy facade a few times, when being punched has him flashing back to being beaten by his father for being a "disappointment." An interaction between him and a pirate captain was particularly sweet, teaching him to fight back because he's worth defending.
I LOVE Felicity, Monty's sister, and I'm really eager to read her story in the sequel to this book, The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy. She is so badass, and incredibly intelligent.
The writing was fun, the action well-paced, and the dialogue clever. I was a little put off at first by the size of the book, but I flew through it quickly. I especially liked Monty's bisexuality - how he just cheerfully perved on practically everyone his age. It definitely reminded me of a few people I know!
Something that I noted, near the end of the book, was Percy not asking Monty to stop his perving. What he said was "if you ever go behind my back..." which implies as long as Percy knows, it's not an issue. Yay for non-monogamy being present in YA! It's nice to see alternative relationship structures being presented, though I wish it had been more than just implied.
This was an excellent read for Pride Month, and I loved the amount of diversity and intersectionality present in it.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Parfs (178 KP) rated After the Dark (2014) in Movies
May 3, 2019
Thought provoking (1 more)
Good cast
A truly enjoyable movie
Having not really heard or read about this movie before seeing it I went in with no expectations. This movie has really stayed with me though and I find myself recommending it to a lot of people.
The plot plays out well with the basic premise being a class of philosophy students are given a scenario in which they must choose who should go in to a bunker to repopulate the world post apocalypse. They are each given a profession by their teacher and they discuss the pros and cons on why they should be the ones to enter the bunker as there is not enough space for them all. When they are discussing this the movie switches from the class room to being stood outside the bunker and we see the movie play out the scenario as if that is what is happening. This occurs several times throughout the movie as they change the rules and we see various scenarios.
There are some great twists in it which really alters your view on how we judge people whether we mean too or not. On the surface you may not see value in a person based on your preconception of their job for example but when you get to find out more you realise that there can be more to a person than a status and they may not have been the best choice.
It is well acted and the cast do a great job of making you like them and hate them through out the movie. It should be on your watch list and is well worth your time.
The plot plays out well with the basic premise being a class of philosophy students are given a scenario in which they must choose who should go in to a bunker to repopulate the world post apocalypse. They are each given a profession by their teacher and they discuss the pros and cons on why they should be the ones to enter the bunker as there is not enough space for them all. When they are discussing this the movie switches from the class room to being stood outside the bunker and we see the movie play out the scenario as if that is what is happening. This occurs several times throughout the movie as they change the rules and we see various scenarios.
There are some great twists in it which really alters your view on how we judge people whether we mean too or not. On the surface you may not see value in a person based on your preconception of their job for example but when you get to find out more you realise that there can be more to a person than a status and they may not have been the best choice.
It is well acted and the cast do a great job of making you like them and hate them through out the movie. It should be on your watch list and is well worth your time.
Miguel Covarrubias (143 KP) rated Game Of Thrones - Season 8 in TV
May 26, 2019
The Ingredients were mixed in the bowl without being baked.
The buildup to the climaxes of the previous seasons hand our expectations at an all time high. For those of us who became invested in the story and the characters, we were supremely let down. This season could have benefited from more time. When everything seems rushed it doesn't give enough time for things to be fulfilled and wrapped up in an emotionally satisfactory way.
The writers were unable to "Kill their darlings". You could tell they only wanted to jump from their favorite plot point to their favorite plot point without any or little explanation of how they got there. The same plot points could have been reached and been plausible had there been enough time to develop.
The entire season seemed to be half baked. It built well to a very underwhelming climax of the battle of Winterfell which made everything after that felt like a poor excuse for denouement. Some of the heroes that they spent 8 years developing became poor shadows of themselves in order to accomplish what the writers wanted. We received good ingredients but not being mixed well or even cooked to become something good, it fell horribly flat.
It also seemed like the wrong medium for this type of adaptation. It could have used more time to develop for screen what worked well in the books, instead it turned into a poor excuse for a stage show.
The writers were unable to "Kill their darlings". You could tell they only wanted to jump from their favorite plot point to their favorite plot point without any or little explanation of how they got there. The same plot points could have been reached and been plausible had there been enough time to develop.
The entire season seemed to be half baked. It built well to a very underwhelming climax of the battle of Winterfell which made everything after that felt like a poor excuse for denouement. Some of the heroes that they spent 8 years developing became poor shadows of themselves in order to accomplish what the writers wanted. We received good ingredients but not being mixed well or even cooked to become something good, it fell horribly flat.
It also seemed like the wrong medium for this type of adaptation. It could have used more time to develop for screen what worked well in the books, instead it turned into a poor excuse for a stage show.
Ross (3284 KP) rated Marvel's The Defenders - Season 1 in TV
Aug 15, 2019
Starts well, fades away into pure meh
The coming together of some lesser names in the Marvel universe (though I feel sorry for Daredevil being pigeonholed here, well done Affleck!) was exciting. The Defenders for me was the goal, with so much to watch first, two series of Daredevil, one each of Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and then Iron Fist. Sadly, that dreadful series of Iron Fist really pummelled me into near-submission. So I didn't start Defenders with the excitement I had hoped to.
The series starts well, setting up interactions between each of these characters and sewing the seeds of the plot that was to come. But that plot really turned out to be quite dreadful and clichéd (cabal of powerful rich pantomime baddies looking to take over the world/harness mystical powers in a ... wait for it ... hidden underground lair).
Luke Cage and Daredevil were not enough to rescue this plot or the series itself from Iron Fist's toxicity. The action scenes are now so boring, it really is just a room full of people punching each other. Go back to that iconic corridor action scene in Daredevil where he single-handedly takes out numerous people at pace, and then compare to this, which is him just hitting and being hit repeatedly over the space of a few minutes. While large scale combat scenes like that must be really hard to choreograph, I wish they had showed less of it and focused more on character development and plot.
By the end I was slightly energised for Daredevil series 3, but have opted instead for The Punisher.
The series starts well, setting up interactions between each of these characters and sewing the seeds of the plot that was to come. But that plot really turned out to be quite dreadful and clichéd (cabal of powerful rich pantomime baddies looking to take over the world/harness mystical powers in a ... wait for it ... hidden underground lair).
Luke Cage and Daredevil were not enough to rescue this plot or the series itself from Iron Fist's toxicity. The action scenes are now so boring, it really is just a room full of people punching each other. Go back to that iconic corridor action scene in Daredevil where he single-handedly takes out numerous people at pace, and then compare to this, which is him just hitting and being hit repeatedly over the space of a few minutes. While large scale combat scenes like that must be really hard to choreograph, I wish they had showed less of it and focused more on character development and plot.
By the end I was slightly energised for Daredevil series 3, but have opted instead for The Punisher.