I put 15 books on hold a few weeks back. I did that many because they’re all newer books with long wait times. Naturally three came in at one time and I picked up Tristan Strong because I’ve been meaning to read it.
As soon as I got home I received a notification that two more books were ready to pick up. :Facepalm:
It begins again, another race to read my library books as fast as possible. 🏃♀️📚
Director:
Amy Heckerling
Writer:
Amy Heckerling
Starring:
John Travolta
Kristie Alley
Bruce Willis
Blurb:
After a single, career-minded woman is left on her own to give birth to the child of a married man, she finds a new romantic chance in a cab driver. Meanwhile, the point-of-view of the newborn boy is narrated through voice-over.
Thoughts:
Here’s the thing, I’m not a fan of Look Who’s Talking. I don’t hate it. I just don’t care one way or another. It exists. I own it, though, because when I found out I was pregnant with my first child, I consumed a lot of media about babies and pregnancy. So I bought the digital version of the movie. Now, I can’t get rid of it. I could pretend like it doesn’t exist in my library, but once again, my Lawful Good personality won’t allow me to do it.
A young, naive Kristie Alley gets knocked up by a client who is clearly, to anyone else, using her for sex. She catches him “cheating,” goes into labor, and John Travolta is her taxi driver to the hospital. Their romance blossoms from there.
Alley’s character is one of those women who are high maintenance. Her temper is volatile, and she’s always right despite proof to the contrary. Travolta’s character is one of those men who like all of those things despite being the opposite. On top of all of that, Alley is somehow a helicopter parent and a neglectful parent. She reads all the books, does all the recommended things, and also leaves her toddler with strangers and an old man with dementia. She’s always swinging between two extremes.
The movie is fine. It’s a romantic comedy with a mildly disturbing opening credits scene.
Director:
Ron Clements
John Musker
Writers:
John Musker
Ron Clements
Howard Ashman
Gerrit Graham
Sam Graham
Chris Hubbell
Starring:
Christopher Daniel Barnes
Jodi Benson
Pat Carrol
Paddi Edwards
Buddy Hackett
Jason Marin
Kenneth Mars
Samuel E. Wright
Blurb:
A mermaid princess makes a Faustian bargain in an attempt to become human and win a prince’s love.
Thoughts:
Beauty and the Beast is peak Disney 2D animation, but The Little Mermaid is when things started to take off. 2D animation done well is a pleasure to watch. The songs in The Little Mermaid are also some of the best Disney has done. The story is the biggest point against the film.
Ariel is sixteen when all of this is going on, and that’s a bit young for me. You could argue that things were different back then or that she’s a mermaid. We don’t know their lifespan, but I don’t accept those excuses. The movie was made for kids, human 1980s kids, so she should have at the least been eighteen. It wouldn’t have aged her out of a kids viewing interest. It’s just a throwaway line, after all. It was a simple thing, and they erred on the side of creepy.
Watching The Little Mermaid post #MeToo also brings up a whole consent argument. Ariel wasn’t able to speak, and yet Eric was supposed to kiss her. However, I have no issue with it. Ariel is very clearly indicating with her body language that she’s receptive to a kiss. Eric never forces himself on her, quite the opposite. So I don’t think there was a consent issue. Just the whole sixteen thing cause how old is Eric?
Forever Fantasy Online (FFO #1)
By:
Rachel Aaron & Travis Bach
Blurb:
IT’S NOT A GAME ANYMORE…
In the real world, twenty-one-year-old library sciences student Tina Anderson is invisible and under-appreciated, but in the VR-game Forever Fantasy Online she’s Roxxy—the respected leader and main tank of a top-tier raiding guild. Her brother, James Anderson, is a college drop-out struggling under debt, but in FFO he’s famous—an explorer known all over the world for doing every quest and collecting the rarest items.
Both Tina and James need the game more than they’d like to admit, but their favorite escape turns into a trap when FFO becomes real. Suddenly, wounds aren’t virtual, the stupid monsters have turned cunning, NPCs start acting like actual people, and death might be forever.
In the real world, everyone said being good at video games was a waste of time. Now, separated across a much larger and more deadly world, their skill at FFO is the only thing keeping them alive. It’s going to take every bit of their expertise (and hoarded loot) to find each other and get back home, but as the harshness of their new reality sets in, Tina and James soon realize that being the best in the game might no longer be good enough.
Review:
I’ve wanted to read a LitRPG book for a while now. I’ve played the sort of games these are based on, and I don’t think anyone can play them without thinking about writing their own story. I was also part of a writing group for a while that was nothing but people writing these types of books. Since I enjoy Aaron’s other books, I thought I’d try her version of things.
After reading Forever Fantasy Online, I’m not sure if this genre is for me. I can see the appeal of writing this kind of story, but I’m not sure if I see the appeal of reading it. I like a more fantasy aspect, meaning not just magic, but the idea that people aren’t immediately horrible when given freedom. I’m sure Aaron and Bach’s version is much closer to reality, especially with how god-awful gamers are, but I wish there had been more good. It’s like Brandon Sanderson’s The Reckoner’s series, with so many bad, powerful people and not enough good. I need good in my entertainment right now.
The book was divided into two points of view. Siblings, Tina and James. James is a screw-up in real life, but once stuff happens in the game, he is courageous and diplomatic, quickly acclimating to the new way of things. Meanwhile, Tina leans heavily into her tank role and becomes even more of a tyrant than she sounded before things happened. I did not like her. She has MAJOR control issues, and even after she’s called out on them, she gets pissed off at anyone who questions her. She messes up all the time, but still, her way is the best way. She’s frustrating.
I still wanted to know what was going to happen, but I started skimming toward the end. Things were gruesome, and it was sad what was happening to the world they were stuck in. I want to know what happens next, but I think I’ll end up doing more skimming through the following books. Thankfully, they’re all in kindle unlimited.
3/5
Director:
Peter MacDonald
Writers:
Sylvester Stallone
Sheldon Lettich
Starring:
Sylvester Stallone
Richard Crenna
Blurb:
Rambo mounts a one-man mission to rescue his friend Colonel Trautman from the clutches of the formidable invading Soviet forces in Afghanistan.
Thoughts:
Technically, Rambo III was playing while I was endlessly scrolling on my phone. I looked up occasionally. I read the Wikipedia entry. That’s about it, though. I vaguely remember Rambo looking world-weary as he killed a lot of Russians and saved a lot of Afghans. There were explosions, probably racism, and according to Wikipedia, we’re still in peak Stallone diva time.
What else can you say? At this point, the series has completely left behind what made the first movie good. I like explosions and action, but I can’t view Rambo as a self-insert, so he does nothing for me. He’s eye-roll-worthy and occasionally sympathetic. I think the behind-the-scenes stuff I’ve read has lowered my opinion of Stallone, so I can’t enjoy them even at the low level I used to.
Oh well. Little Mermaid is next.
Dynamite Review 