The Well of Ascension

The Well of Ascension lost me at about half way through. SPOILERS

Right at the time that we realise the spy in the team is another kandra replacing their original one and then she kills Zane. The rest of the novel was kind of Vin surrendering to Elend's love (in a good way), two intelligent and intuitive people getting fooled by hogwash excuses (Vin and Elend leaving Luthadel upon the convincing (!) arguments of Sazed then Vin saving the day and then Vin ruining the day and at last Elend becoming a mistborn. Oh Straff was killed and Elend became and Emperor but now Vin unleashed the unnamed force that is probably an enemy. And Sazed realised that the words in the steel plate he rubbed onto paper were all changed. There is a new addition of a helpful Mist Spirit. Marsh turning into an enemy again and I think since Zane has one of those Inquisitor spikes on his body and the kandra refused to eat it, Zane will make a comeback in the third novel.

I was bored by this and now am giving myselft a break. I was not able to connect to it the way I connected to the first two Stormlight Archive novels (come to think of it I liked the first one better there too). 

Shameless III

Shameless Third Season is just as good as the first two and now I'm completely hooked on the show.  

The Keys To The Street

The Keys To The Street is yet another second hand bookshop find (LA The Last Bookstore). I love Ruth Rendell this novel did not dissapoint. 

American Gangster

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American Gangster has never interested me. Despite loving Ridley Scott and Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe. And I turned this one on Dvdigi only to pleasantly doze off while I watch it (this is a particular pleasure of mine). But not only I was wide awake from the first scene, I was engaged and interested all throughout the considerable length of it. It was pretty much a great surprise and an unexpected delight.

The Prestige

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The Prestige well it worked better for me the third time. This is one of the few films in which I saw the plot twist very early and then thought the whole thing stupid. I only watched it because of Mr. Nolan since I didn't like Hugh Jackman (I think he is a great guy and an accomplished actor, I just don't like him, Wolverine excluded) and I didn't like Christian Bale (I'm cured of that now since I like him a lot, especially after The Machinist and The Dark Knight). Anyway knowing the twist and getting over knowing the twist in my second viewing, this time I was able to notice lots of stuff and enjoy it the best. 

Run All Night

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Run All Night turned out to be alright. I was not expecting to cry over it but I did. 

Something's Gotta Give

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Something's Gotta Give surprised me this time since I didn't cry a tear and was not really impressed by the first world problems of any of the characters. I remember the first time I saw it, I was in tears at the end. Nothing worked for me this time around. 

I'd Know You Anywhere

I'd Know You Anywhere is a novel I picked up at LA on a whim (last minute grab) and I'm happy that I did because I certainly was not expecting a psychological novel. This one is all about feelings, emotions and thoughts. Nicely told with flashbacks and points of views of different characters, it was engaging and interesting. I'll not pass if I come across another novel from this writer. I didn't LOVE it but it is a good book. 

Made in Dagenham

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Made in Dagenham is one of those National Lotterty funded UK films. And I liked it a lot. First off I want to tip my hat to Sally Hawkins. Such a great actress and so under rated for some reason. I love her and she was brilliant in this one. The story is the real life struggle of women wanting equal pay. Why should men be paid more when they all do similar sort of work? It was an uplifting film and I cried a bit in the end although I didn't want to. 

Inside Out

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Inside Out was among the pile of film my sister has stored in one of her little flash discs and I thought I'd give it a try. It got great reviews and everyone liked it. I liked it as well. I had a great time, leaked a little and decided that it is the sort of film one can take their child and both child and adult can have a good time. 

No Mercy (2010)

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No Mercy is revenge thriller from South Korea. To be honest I was not really into it but as I have weakness for revenge plots (in real life I'm useless at this since I forgive and forget easily) and this one was really elaborate and suitably horrific (but it didn't have the impact of Old Boy). Not a waste of time but not really very good either. 

Sado (The Throne)

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Sado (The Throne) is a historical S. Korean film telling the sad story of Sado ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Prince_Sado ) who died confined in rice chest by the order of his father King Yeongjo. Firstly this film affected me a lot. Not only I'm familiar with the story (I have even read the diary of Hyegyong) and it is a sad one where it is not clear who is to blame. Some views that since Sado suffered from mental illness (he killed more than one palace servant) and his father had no other option but to end his life, and some think that the father was jelaous of the son (he treated him very badly in life) and Sado was killed as a result of the court politics. Sado's wife was the daughter of a different faction than the one King was more friendly to. The film is more sympathetic to the latter theory. Sado is shown to kill a servant during a time of mental turmoil but mostly he is depicted as a smart young man whose talents and ambitions are thwarted by his father (who focused his love and teachings to Sado's son). He is very emotional and doesn't take life's harshness lightly. Normally I wouldn't like the film very much since the story structure didn't appeal to me (we see Sado's sufferings in the rice chest and have flashbacks explaining how he came to be in there) but the actors are all my favorites. Song Kang Ho is probably my all time favorite Korean actor. He may not have the model good looks but he has great talent and he acts fantastically well, Yoo Ah In is also a fave of mine ever since Sungkyungwan Scandal and he is perfect as Sado, the emotionally disturbed but sensitive, suffering prince. And as a bonus his son's (King Jeonjo) grown up version is played by So Ji Sub (my all time favorite handsome Korean actor). Lady Hyegyong was acted by Moon Geun Yeong who is not only adorable but also a good actor. I have cried and cried and cried during this film. Yes I think I have suffered from dehydration. 

A Second Chance (En Chance Til)

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A Second Chance I chose to watch because I like Scandinavian films/TV shows and novels. This one is not an exception. The story was very interesting. SPOILERS.

The protagonist is a cop who has a lovely wife and a baby. We see them happily living a nice life at a beautiful home. He has an older partner who has alchohol problems. One day they visit a house for a domestic dispute (probably because the male of the couple is a known drug user, dealer with criminal tendencies) and at the house they find that he is abusing his partner who is a prostitute and they also find a baby who was tucked in a closed covered in his own feces. The mother took a drug test and found clean. Our lead was not happy with the condition of the baby but there was nothing they could do. And one day the cop's wife wakes up at night to find their baby dead. He wakes to her cries and assesses the situation and wants to call an ambulance (despite the fact that it is clear the baby is dead) and his wife tells him that she'll kill herself if he calls an ambulance. So he thinks about it and in a state I can only name as temporary insanity goes to the drug dealers home and switches the babies leaving his dead baby in their bathroom where the live baby was. He brings the other baby and tells his wife that she can take care of the new baby. Meanwhile the drug dealer realises the baby is dead and goes ahead and disposes it also plans something elaborate which will not put any blame on either of them. She insists that the dead baby is not her baby but he doesn't listen and puts his scheme in action by claiming that his baby is kidnapped. The police is alerted and they are doing everything they can but our guy knows that the drug dealer is lying. And he questions them in such a way that it became obvious the baby is not kidnapped. The mother still claims that the dead baby was not her baby and she is put at a psychiatric institution. Meanwhile the cop is suffering from guilt because the mother is suffering from not knowing what happens to the baby. And his wife commits suicide (leaving the changed baby to a truck driver. Then they question the drug dealer and he vaguely remembers burying the baby in a gym bag at some forest. The polices searches the area with dogs and finds the baby. After the autopsy it is found out that the baby of the cop died because it was shaken excessively. His wife actually killed their baby and that is probably why she never wanted an ambulance and that is why she committed suicide. Anyway the just takes the changed baby and goes to a summer cottage spending time with the cutest little baby of the drug dealer. His alchie friend finally finds out what happened (while looking at the photos in his iphone) and goes to the summer cottage and fetches the cop and the stolen baby. The cop asks to give the baby to the mother himself and they grant this wish. The mother immediately recognises her baby and holds it tenderly. The cop is fired but not put into jail. And years later he actually comes across to the mother and child at a furniture store (Ikea?) and he works there and the mother and son are customers. It seems that the mother put her life in order and the baby grew up to be a smart, kind hearted child.

I liked this one a lot but it probably is not for everyone. 

Shameless: Season II

Shameless: Season II is just as good, maybe even better than the first season. My favorite character in the show is Fiona. She is very capable and strong and she is the one who made the most sacrifices. But she is also smart and sassy and capable.

Frank is horrible and I thank God that I never had this type of dad.

My next favorite would be Ian who is gay and is in need of some romance. Actually he and the local gangster Mickey love each other but Mickey doesn't want to come out.

I'm not that keen on Lip, despite everyone loving him. I like the fact that he is genius and he wants to do the right thing but he is very similar to Frank in some ways. Hopefully he will turn out to be better than him (but that is not a hard thing since Frank is pretty awful)

I also like Kev and Vi. The way they love each other and compliment the differences in their characters. 

Mistborn I: The Final Empire

Mistborn: The Final Empire This first novel of the trilogy ended up being very good but for some reason, despite enjoying it a lot I kind of feel that Mr. Sanderson's themes have become very familiar to me and I feel in need of something different. But I'm happy since I have only used one credit for the two novels. I'm now on the second novel and it is just as good.

Slumdog Millionaire

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Slumdog Millionaire made me cry so much when I watched it in in theatre. And I didn't even know just how close some of the depictions in the film to real life are. This second viewing was better for me, and I was crying and crying, despite the fact that now I know the two leads danced terribly in the end credits.

What gets me most is the goodness. Jamal is a very good person and I love that he remains so despite everything that has happened to him.  I love characters like that and enjoyed this film very very much in this second viewing. 

The Heroes

The Heroes is not a novel I'd normally choose. First off it is a war novel and that is my least favorite genre. However I love Joe Abercrombie ever since First Law and his characters and the way that they are neither good nor bad and not everything works out for them (in fact it often doesn't) and most importantly the sense of humour (it is rare that I laugh out loud to fiction but Mr. Abercrombie often makes me). So this ended up being an excellent novel and one worth seeking for. I'm now eager for the third stand alone First Law novel. 

Terminator Genisys

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Terminator Genisys  is a boring film. 

Shameless USA Season I

Shameless Season I ended up being very interesting and fun to watch. I liked the characters, I liked the actors and the script is great too. Frank is despicable and I think he is meant to and the other characters are more nuanced with some good some bad. The revelation in this for me is Emily Rossum playing Fiona. She is so so good. I only watched in The Phantom of  The Opera and didn't like her there, at all. In this however she is excellent. I like her character the best probably because her performance is great. I'm looking forward to the other seasons.

I wanted to note that I was never interested in this show. Due to Rossum and the plot (a poor family struggling but the members are all morally ambigious) probably. I have seen an episode in LA and was hooked. Completely hooked. 

Salt and Saffron

Salt and Saffron I picked up at a used book store and enjoyed it only because I'm into South East Asian culture. The story was interesting but this novel is nothing special to me. What annoyed me most is that they compare it to The God of Small Things (which is a brilliant novel). 

Johnny Worricker - Turks and Caicos & Salting The Battlefield

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Johnny Worricker Turks & Caicos was sitting there on dvdigi and I have it a chance and I'm happy that I did. This turned out to be decent spy drama and I was entertained and loved the acting.

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Johnny Worricker Salting The Battlefield is apparently the last of the trilogy. But I had no idea and I watched these two in reverse order. This one was not as good as Turks and Caicos (lots of politics along with spy stuff) but the actors are all good and watching them act is a delight in itself.

Intolerable Cruelty

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Intolerable Cruelty is one of the film I have watched in theatre thinking that I should. Looking back I wonder why since I don't care for George Cloony and I don't care for Catherine Zeta Jones. Why would I want to watch a rom com starring the two? Maybe because it is Coen brothers, anyway, the film didn't improve on this second viewing. I can't call it bad, it is one of those films that is just not for me . 

Fargo

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Fargo is one of the best films I have seen. I'm not a total Coen brothers fan. I love some of their films (The Big Lebowski, Burn After Reading, Inside Llweyn Davis) I like their films for one time only (Intolerable Cruelty, O' Brother Where Art Thou?, No Country for Old Men, Raizing Arizona, Hudsucker Proxy) and bored with some of them (Blood Simple - fell asleep during-, Miller's Crossing - fell asleep during and never even bothered with the others)

Fargo is different. I think it is their masterpiece so far. Simply a perfect film where I wouldn't change a single thing.
  

Visions

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Visions This film is bad, very bad. Isla Fisher's performance fails to amuse after five minutes into the film. The direction, the cast, everything is awful. Just stay away from this one. 

The Harlequin

The Harlequin is among the novels I bought in LA (The Last Stand book store) and despite remembering Anita Blake fondly (I think I was totally hooked when I was in my early thirties or something) she seemed to be getting out of hand. Ok this lady is a necromance, human servant to a Master Vampire, has at least four types of lychanthropy inside her, she has her own animal to call and her own vampire servant. There should be a limit at some point I suppose but I was totally entertained by her love life and complications and they fact that her vampire lover, her werewold lover and herself and her animal to call and her vampire servant can only get power through sex. Despite sounding like an erotica it is not. She is powerful, independent and not rigid so that she doesn't know how to compromise but not clingy so she doesn't let go when she knows that the relationship is going bad. By compromise I mean that her one of her live in lovers wants her to dominate him and she is not really into that but at the end of the novel SPOILER she decides that she at least needs to learn and try  :) All in all this is not the type of novel to give serious thoughts but it is entertaining, I like its message and strong, capable heroine. This will not make back to following these series again but I'm glad that I got another one at the store. 

Avengers:Age of Ultron

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Avengers: Age of Ultron is the typical super hero film. All the avengers are fighting against an artifical intelligence (from outer space via Loki's scepter, helped out by Stark and Banner thinking they are doing a good thing). It is entertaining but filled with a lot of characters (as if Avenger team was not enough) and a bit longer than it needs to perhaps. I enjoyed it though. 

Zac and Miri Make a Porno

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Zac and Miri Make a Porno was a film I was curious about. Not because I was interested in porn (eewwww) but because I used to like Kevin Smith and wanted to check it out but it was never widely acclaimed or anything and now that I have seen it (the glimpses I got while dosing off at Ko Samui do not count) I know why. First off I didn't like the male character. Seth Rogen acts as Zac a selfish loser who wastes his money on ice skates when they have months of utility debts and gets his mate's hand warmer in a freezing car. Miri doesn't mind though and she seems to like Zac as a person (a mystery as far as I'm concerned). These two are friends from elementary school and live together as room mates and they are not lovers or anything. They are very very poor though working at menial jobs and Zac not caring about their debts. After Miri's granny pants (filmed by two teen losers at the coffee shop where Zac works) prove to be an internet sensation, Zac has the brilliant idea to make a porn film and sell it on line to their high school alumni and pay all their bills (they are at this point without water and power at home, freezing and they still have rent debts) Miri is sceptic but her weakness is Zac and she gives in (and we find out in this scene that these two are orphans and they don't have any relatives, I felt sorry for them in a different way this time, and kind of understood why Miri is enabling Zac). Anyway they decide on a Star Wars themed film called Star Whores. And while filming etc. they realise that they actually love each other but misunderstandings about who sleeps with whom separates them and Zac moves out (without informing anyone). Of course there is the happy ending in the end but I still felt sorry for Miri. 

Anyway I hope the title of this film does not cause misundertandings. Yes there is a porn in the film but it is not displayed as porn and we just see obviously fake breasts and some back nudit really. I think a woman someone takes it all off at the auditon scene but it is blink and you'll miss it.