Top Ten Tuesday #5

It is time for another part of the Top Ten Tuesday lists featured by The Broke and The Bookish.
Today's topic is: Top 10 Books I have read so far in 2015. If I have to be honest this year has been boring book-wise so far for me. It was mostly uni books which I enjoyed but did not love. I am looking forward to the rest of the summer so I can read all the books in my list.

Ilina's picks:

1. The Girl Who Played with Fire - Fantastic trilogy, I read the first one awhile ago (one of my first reviews here - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and I absolutely loved it. Just for the record, I can't stand crime fiction and now this is one of my favorite books, so this is saying something.
2. We Are All Completely Besides Ourselves - I wrote a review on this one as well (check it out here). I picked it up randomly in a sale and I enjoyed it but could not say that it is the best.
3. Let it Snow - This was something I was dying to read - so much that I read it in spring, couldn't wait until Christmas. Maybe that was a major mistake, I don't, know but I am not a fan. Even John Green's story was not impressive at all and he usually never fails to entertain me.
4. My Name is Red - I am cheating a little bit with this one because I actually finished it in December last year, but it is so good I just couldn't leave it out. It was a uni book (surprisingly) and it was so gripping and written in an amazing, unconventional way. 
5. Divergent - I already mentioned it in my previous post. Not much more to say - absolutely everybody knows something about it.
6. The Sorrows of Young Werther - Another uni book (Goethe, how sophisticated). This book was an amazing outburst at its time - people were so crazy about this character that they desperately tried to be exactly like him - some people even killed themselves for this cause (spoiled it a little bit for you). A classic example of taking a fandom too far.

Georgie's picks:

7. Books of Blood - Classical horror with a new original spin, written in an authentic and hugely entertaining way. It was even hailed by Stephen King as "the future of horror" and that is definitely something.

8. The Stand - The apocalypse/judgement day scenario you might not expect nowadays, but would actually make a lot of sense. One of King's best works and that is coming from a person who has read most of them.

9. The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Too weird and exceptional to not read in a lifetime. So funny that you might end up writing lines down in order to NEVER forget them.

Have you read any of those novels and what did you think of them? 

  

True Detective Season 2, Episode 1: Review

Frank: Never do anything out of hunger. Even eating.

After months, and months, and months of waiting it finally arrived – the second season of one of the best shows ever made (and I’m not even putting this up for discussion) – True Detective. A few quick words about the first season – it was dark, gritty, hardcore, perfectly written and with such a fantastic character development that it might just mark Harrelson and McConaughey as the best on-screen tandem of all time. The coolness of season one – beyond words. To set this differently, my expectations for season two (especially after seeing the cast) were sky-high. And the first episode fell short of my forecast at first. But then I thought about it a little and it came to me – this is not the same show! It is not a regular second season of a hit series – it is a whole new sequence! And it should be treated as such.

Lets start off with a brief character description. First we meet Ray Velcoro (Colin Farrell) – a police detective on the verge of complete self-destruction – mixing alcohol with drugs, brass-knuckles and assault into a funnel of disaster.  The character is engaging, intriguing, tormented and completely insane, by the looks of it. On the whole, he represents a dirty cop. My guess is that he will be the fan favorite for the season. Next up we have Vince Vaughn’s Frank Semyon, who plays the role of a crime lord in shadow – the kind that you know is a mess, but not sure what his game is yet. Rachel McAdams’s Ani Bezzerides seems like a cliché at first – daddy issues, the tough girl act, carrying a lot of “teen anger” and generally looks like she might throw a bitch fit at any given moment. Hopefully that will develop into something more as the show goes further into the season. And last we have Paul Woodrugh (Taylor Kitsch) who serves as a war veteran cop, trying to escape from something (presumably the ghosts of his past). Kitsch also needs to work for some deeper character development as he falls a bit flat in the opening episode. Also, he is possibly suicidal which is quite boring. All in all, the role mash is promising, but definitely needs more work.

As for the plot – not much of a story is revealed so far as most of the screen time was left for character introductions. As Ray and Frank seem to be acting together, perhaps they will be stood against Kitsch and McAdams’s characters, but that also remains unseen yet. And now that I have spoiled that Farrell and Vaughn appear to be working together I might as well go ahead and reveal the moneyshot of the episode – the amazing over-the-table stare-off between their characters under the gloomy but gorgeous melody of Lera Lynn’s My Least Favorite Life. After the nearly indifferent first half, that scene was amazingly beautiful and contains within itself all the reasons we love the show – the kind of personal drives that are so primal and natural to them. All it takes is one look into their eyes for me to understand one thing: this person knows exactly what he is capable of. And it is not pretty. So my blind guess is that we are in for quite a ride with this season. All I personally need  to do is come to grips with the fact that it has nothing to do with the previous one. 

Ray: I used to want to be an astronaut. But astronauts don't even go to the moon anymore. 

~G.

Avengers: Age of Ultron: Film Reviews #4

Ultron: How do you hope to stop me?

Tony Stark: Like the old man said - together.

                There are lots of different opinions on the new Avengers movie but the question that is most asked is: “Is it better than the first one?” Well, in short – yes! Read on for more on the subject.

                The movie starts off with a massive and beautiful battle in the snowy forests of Fuck-knows-where. We are instantly shown the entire assembly and without words explained how much they have bonded after the events of the first movie (especially Black Widow and Hulk, who are eyeball-fucking each other every chance they get). We get lots of sweet moves from the team as they tear down what is explained to be a yet another Hidra hide-out. What is especially enjoyable are the fighting moments where Cap and Thor double-team against the poor, probably under-paid bastards that have been send to stop them. It is in this opening scene that we are also introduced the twins – Wanda and Pietro Maximoff (from the not-so-friendly country of Fuck-knows-where, in case you missed it earlier). I have to say – they were so annoying in the first half of the movie I actually hoped Hulk would dick-slap them out of the overused accents. They do grow on you as the movie goes on, actually… But the accents do not. Well, you can’t have everything.

                Once the setting is… well – set, we witness the birth of Ultron and are sent on a real action rollercoaster with twists and turns, great character storylines and spot-on comical moments. James Spader is amazing in his portrayal of Ultron. He actually does so well that you end up craving every line with sincere impatience. It’s kind of like “Yeah, yeah, STFU, Tony, let the robot speak!” This time around Joss Whedon has found time for literally everybody to have a special moment on screen. Hawkeye aka. Clint Barton has a big role in this one, which is actually a breath of fresh air. His significance in the story brings forward the question as to whether the super powers/costume make the hero or is he somewhere deep inside the one who wields them. We get to learn more about him and his personal life and this time around we can actually connect with him (and care about him).  

                What really separates the second installment is the sense of doom it carries. The first Avengers also had its threats to Earth’s well-being, but all the way through you knew it was all gonna be okay. Not this time – up until the very end it could go either way. The sense of disaster is so strong it will have you in a chokehold up until the very last climactic blast has cleared the air. Sounds intense, right? Well – it is! Nice thing Whedon put lots of funny moments and dialogue right in the mix with the action or drama that is going on. It seems the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously which is nice with it being a comic book movie and all (The Dark Knight excluded) and also it makes it that much more enjoyable knowing that should the world actually end up being destroyed it will do so while Hawkeye is half-jokingly threatening to shoot Quicksilver and blaming it all on Ultron (“No one will have to know. I could do it, you know. 'Where's the kid?' Oh, last I saw him, Ultron was sitting on him. Shame, really. Miss the little bastard already.") It all just works and does so in a fantastic way.

                In case you didn’t catch my drift – the movie ROCKS! It easily floats between drama and comedy and squeezes the best out of its cast and story. And now we wait for Thanos to get his fat ass off of the damn chair.

                PS Thor’s hammer rules!

~G.

Top Ten Tuesday #4

It is been awhile since I've done a Top Ten Tuesday. It is basically a feature by the amazing blog The Broke and the Bookish where every Tuesday we create a list of books on a certain topic (because who doesn't love lists?)

Today's theme is a very exciting one for me: top ten books I plan on reading this summer! I adore summer and reading on the beach is the closest part of heaven I will ever encounter. I always create to-read lists but almost never follow them. I would much rather prefer to pile up unread books in my room while spontaneously buying random ones and reading them in one day. But this time I will try harder.

Ilina's picks

George's picks (I didn't give him much chance, did I?)

1. Divergent - It feels like I am on track if the first book is on my currently-reading shelf. So far so good although I find some striking similarities with other novels. I would probably write a full report on it soon.

2. Sex and the City - Yes, people, I know what you would think but I do love this trilogy (is it a trilogy, though?). The writing is nothing special but I enjoy the storyline. And admit it - isn't it the perfect light read for the beach, am I right, ladies?

3. Lipstick jungle  - Another book of the same author because my holiday will be long after all.

4. An Abundance of Kathrines - One of my favorite authors - light-hearted, funny and smart, all of his books amuse me. This is probably the only one left that I still haven't put my hands on.

5. Coastliners - Now this woman is magic. I have done a whole post on her, so you can go check it out (Joanne Harris). This book's title and cover just smell of summer and I'm sure I'll love it.

6. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - I love Fitzgerald works, he is just perfect. As for this one in particular, I remember how touching the film adaptation was. So I was just scrolling through my read shelf and remembered that last summer I went through two of his novels and I absolutely loved them. 
7. The last two book on my menu I own since like forever, so I think I owe them my attention.
As for George's list, one of them is a Stephen King's novel and he is just obsessed with him. That is probably one of the few remaining unread. And The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is my recommendation as I am sure that he will surely fall in love with the trilogy but he is stubborn. 

I absolutely love participating in the Top Ten Tuesday and I will definitely continue like I did last summer. 
~I.

A Severe Case of Harry Potter Nostalgia

Warning: this random rant is directed to die-hard Harry Potter fans.

If you don’t like Harry Potter I genuinely believe that there is something wrong with you. Not having read the books is relatively acceptable but the films are a must. Some might think: “Oh, you must be crazy writing about something so far gone, how could you still be interested in Harry Potter?” And my answer would be: “Always.” Forever I will be charmed by the idea of a magical world, of characters so perfect and finished.  What is the summer vacation for if not to treat yourself with a Harry Potter marathon? I do it almost every year and yet I still find myself crying over the most heart-melting scenes. Harry hugging Hagrid and saying: “There is no Hogwarts without you, Hagrid.” and everyone standing to applause him. Cedric Diggory dying. Sirius Black. With Dumbledore, Rowling already pushed it way too far. But Dobby and Fred, and Lupin? Why?

Aside from the deaths, almost everything in this series brings joy to my reckless soul. I would never understand how a person who had no writing experience whatsoever, managed to shape such an amazing storyline with unbelievable plot-twists. Speaking of plot-twists, I always wondered how Alan Rickman felt about portraying the best fictional character ever to exist. Yes, I know everybody loves Snape now, and no, I didn’t see it coming and logically hated his guts. But I can’t deny it was an absolutely genius move and most importantly, it made perfect sense. While I understand that most of the population on Earth knows everything there is to know about Harry Potter, I would like to indulge in some random facts that completely conclude the story and attain the perfect ending. As I said, I recently re-watched the series and I remember quite good what was mentioned and what not, but excuse me if I repeat some information that is obvious.

We all realize that Voldemort’s weakness was the fact that he could not feel love. But do you know exactly why? His mother, Merope Grunt (direct descendant of Salazar Slyderin), grew an obsessive love for Tom Riddle, a muggle. So she bewitched Tom with Amortentia – a powerful love potion. It was due to her enchantment that her son was incapable of love. His lack of feelings may be the thing that made him so evil and powerful, but then again this lack killed him. It was the only weapon Harry had against him. As Dumbledore said to him: “Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all those who live without love.”

One of my favorite elements of the story is the concept of the three Deathly Hallows. There is the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone and the Invisibility cloak. At first I didn’t realize, as many others, that the cloak was already been with Harry throughout all those years. It is said that most of the invisibility cloaks are not very powerful and their function fades away through the years. But not Harry’s. Most importantly, both Harry and Dumbledore have been in possession of all three of Deathly Hallows which basically makes them the coolest wizards of all time.

Harry is an amazingly brave wizard and therefore he has many abilities, but one of the most bizarre ones was his skill to speak Parseltongue (talking to snakes) – it is something only the heir of Slyderin could do. When he was eleven years old he communicated with a snake in the zoo and that didn’t seem that odd at the time. Later, he realized that it is absolutely unusual even for the magical world. For me personally it was quite obvious why he had this ability – he shared a connection with his enemy. The night Voldemort tried to kill him, part of his soul rebounded and clung to the only living thing it could find. Naturally, of course, when Voldemort himself tried to kill Harry in the Forbidden Forest, he actually destroyed his own unintended Horcrux. After that, Harry lost his ability to speak to snakes forever.

I hope I have not bored you to death with my nostalgic rant. It is something that I am very excited about and even if one single person likes it, I will continue with this Harry Potter series. Do you know any interesting facts that I may have neglected?

~I.

We Are The Millers: Film Reviews #3

Scottie P: You know what I'm sayin'?
David: Well, I'm awake and I speak English, so yeah, I know what you're saying.




In case you are in a hurry to watch something and you are wondering whether this is the right film to get you in a good mood and a happy state of mind - YES, IT IS. Now, if you have some time for specifics - keep reading, I definitely have something to say about it. 
We Are The Millers is a perfect example of what a modern comedy should look like. It is funny, dirty, nasty, sexy (Rachel... sorry, Jennifer still has it) and extremely witty. The writers make fun of everyone and everything, even the film itself. There is not a race, belief or ethnicity that goes unharmed. And yet, it does not come as offensive in any way, because the plot itself is so ridiculous you can't take anything that happens seriously. We have a stripper, a small time drug-dealer, a pretty thief and a very trusting virgin ("Just pretend its a girl's dick"). And the chemistry between the cast members is fantastic and together they produce the only listenable rendition of TLC's "Waterfalls" there ever was. Even Emma Roberts is not her usual annoying self. David (Sudeikis) and Rose (Aniston) really pull off the hate/love bond between their characters and the hateful comments never seem to get old.
The plot itself makes much "sense" - the upper-mentioned degenerates have to smuggle "enough weed to kill Willie Nelson" through the American border. And that seems to be the easy part (not counting a guy in the next lane getting beaten to fuck for a joint as they are slowly approaching the guard). The chaos that follows on american soil is a sort of a symphony of racist redneck humor and love for Tom Waits. It is beautiful. So in case you are not the sharpest tool in the box - go see this film! It is brilliant! Wipe your mouth, you are drooling...


Rose:  Lord, we thank thee for the blessing of this family vacation. May David find his bliss and bring us all back home safely. May Kenny and Casey fortify their sibling bond over the warm glow of our devoted hearts. And may this entire airplane find safe passage and a bountiful life. Even the Jews. Amen.




~G.

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves: Book Reviews #1

You know what is one of the best things about living in London? Well, for me anyway. Walking around small streets you have never wandered around in a rainy day and finding a small private book sell. People there are so sweet and innocent, they just leave their precious books right there on the street and let you take whatever you like in the return of just 50p. That is so far the sweetest thing I have ever seen in my entire life.

That is the cheesy story of how I encountered “We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves”. Why I chose this one in particular, one would ask. While I generally enjoy reading absolutely everything – from crime to romance, to fantasy, to classic – I mostly, enjoy reviewing contemporary novels. And there are so many of them that if you just pick a random one, it is more likely for it to be absolute nonsense. “One of the best twists in years’, its front page said and I was intrigued. Another thing that is more likely to draw me in is the cover itself – and this one in particular, is appealing.

Now, to the actual book – a story of a seemingly ordinary family, at least in the beginning.  It is a tale of sibling love and there are many novels dedicated to this topic but not many melt my heart like this one managed.  If I have to be absolutely fair though, the main character, and essentially the narrator, was quite irritating. But I’ll speak later about the characters themselves. The theme, family, is supposedly boring but this one is extraordinary. The author does manage to create quite a twist with the special member of the Cooke family. The most thought-provoking part for me was the relationship between all the members of the family, what they expected from each other and mostly, how a little child comprehends the world in its own unique way. “In most families, there is a favorite child.”, she writes and throughout the whole novel the innocent kid in her believes that everyone loved much more her sister and that everyone blamed her for Fern's disappearance.  It is amazing how children can take all the blame on their own shoulders. Later on in her story, she is being terribly bullied and still not wanting to bother her parents: “My mother wasn’t strong enough to hear it; she would never come out of her room again if I told.” So she just endured everything. This right here is what I call pure love. Despite for that, all her other qualities were quite annoying - she was always doubting herself, never capturing the moment and later whining about it.  Her bother, on the other hand, also had his issues but I absolutely adored his unconditional love for animals. But abandoning his whole family and going against the law was too extreme. His compassion, though, was unreal and it is hard to almost impossible to find living people who share the same dedication to protecting the animal rights. 

On the whole, this book deserves my three stars because it was a light read and I genuinely enjoyed it but it is not something I would recommend to absolute book lovers. The ending was quite predictable but that is not always a negative trace – more often the important part is not why but how it is done. And in this particular case it was heart-melting as I probably have already said a million times. The actual writing though is scattered and can be rather confusing which is the main reason I don’t recommend it to everybody. Other than that, it is a lovely story that can get to the feelings of even to most stone-hearted person. 
~I.