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livruther's reviews
1392 reviews
The Last Decade of Cinema by Scott Ryan
1.75
I received an arc from netgalley & the publisher
(sorry this is the longest review ever)
holy pretentious, batman!
this book starts with a discussion of how everything these days is a superhero movie and films just aren't the same and audiences just want superhero stories instead of anything original or good. the author then makes a caveat that obviously not EVERY new movie is bad, but he still implies that audiences today don't want intelligent content. part of the reason he says people don't want smart movies anymore is because education has gone downhill, and he pairs this opinion with an anecdote about how his daughters never had to do a single piece of homework during their time in public school, which I just do not believe. he also adds in a sentence about how he's one of the only people on the planet that hadn't seen marvel, which comes off as so "pick me." like, you don't get a prize for not watching popular movies. he also says that controversial movie takes can't be said today because people will unfriend you over an opinion about movies they disagree with, which is crazy and not at all true in my experience.
he remarks that it is annoying when period pieces show Black and white people coexisting in the 50s, which I can kind of understand, but I think there is something powerful in focusing on Black joy instead of trauma. he constantly refers to women as "females," too, which wouldn't bug me unless I was already not enjoying the book, then it bothers me. he references "blacks" and "gays" during his pleasantville essay, which would have felt icky to me no matter if I was enjoying the story or not.
there are some instances of hypocrisy that I did not like either. the author praises films that wait a while before having the main characters on screen, then praises pretty woman for getting started quickly. so does he want a lot of exposition or not?? he says Malcolm X is a great biopic, but he doesn't mention that biopics are way more common today than they were in the 90s! he also mentions a lack of strong women roles in the past, which is a fair criticism, but there are tons of biopics today that have great, diverse stories. so not every movie is a superhero film; there are great stories of real people being made today that he fails to mention!!
I honestly could write more but I don't feel like it. if you're looking for a book about film, choose almost any book besides this one.
(sorry this is the longest review ever)
holy pretentious, batman!
this book starts with a discussion of how everything these days is a superhero movie and films just aren't the same and audiences just want superhero stories instead of anything original or good. the author then makes a caveat that obviously not EVERY new movie is bad, but he still implies that audiences today don't want intelligent content. part of the reason he says people don't want smart movies anymore is because education has gone downhill, and he pairs this opinion with an anecdote about how his daughters never had to do a single piece of homework during their time in public school, which I just do not believe. he also adds in a sentence about how he's one of the only people on the planet that hadn't seen marvel, which comes off as so "pick me." like, you don't get a prize for not watching popular movies. he also says that controversial movie takes can't be said today because people will unfriend you over an opinion about movies they disagree with, which is crazy and not at all true in my experience.
he remarks that it is annoying when period pieces show Black and white people coexisting in the 50s, which I can kind of understand, but I think there is something powerful in focusing on Black joy instead of trauma. he constantly refers to women as "females," too, which wouldn't bug me unless I was already not enjoying the book, then it bothers me. he references "blacks" and "gays" during his pleasantville essay, which would have felt icky to me no matter if I was enjoying the story or not.
there are some instances of hypocrisy that I did not like either. the author praises films that wait a while before having the main characters on screen, then praises pretty woman for getting started quickly. so does he want a lot of exposition or not?? he says Malcolm X is a great biopic, but he doesn't mention that biopics are way more common today than they were in the 90s! he also mentions a lack of strong women roles in the past, which is a fair criticism, but there are tons of biopics today that have great, diverse stories. so not every movie is a superhero film; there are great stories of real people being made today that he fails to mention!!
I honestly could write more but I don't feel like it. if you're looking for a book about film, choose almost any book besides this one.
Information Now: A Graphic Guide to Student Research by Matt Upson, C. Michael Hall, Kevin Cannon
Did not finish book. Stopped at 11%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 11%.
just had to read part of this for school, but it was engaging, accessible, and well done. great for use in classrooms!
The Dugout by Meghan Quinn
Did not finish book. Stopped at 26%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 26%.
i genuinely could not get through this. i liked the premise and thought the characters would be cute together, but milly was the most “not like other girls” fmc that ive ever read. i thought i could wait to see the characters get together but i could not stand it anymore. she was always wearing her baggy clothes and no makeup, but she might as well have been wearing a shirt that said “PICK ME”
the final straw that made me not finish this was when they talked about how unique and quirky it was that she wasnt afraid to eat (yes, the thing everyone has to do to survive, EAT) in front of guys. im honestly enraged at this book
the final straw that made me not finish this was when they talked about how unique and quirky it was that she wasnt afraid to eat (yes, the thing everyone has to do to survive, EAT) in front of guys. im honestly enraged at this book
The Prospects by KT Hoffman
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
this was a great read! if you like a lot of sports in your sports romance, i would definitely recommend this, because all of the baseball talk went over my head, though it didnt bother me. i wish gene’s loved ones would have apologized more, though. there were 2 characters specifically that i did not feel treated gene very well, and when they did say they were sorry, it felt inadequate to me.
Beautiful Secret by Christina Lauren
emotional
tense
medium-paced
3.75
the conflict of this book was more stressful than i expected it to be, which isnt necessarily a bad thing, it just isnt suited to my particular taste. all around, though, this was a solid christina lauren read. i love them!
A Bluestocking's Guide to Decadence by Jess Everlee
emotional
medium-paced
3.75
thank you to netgally and the publisher for an arc
this was a sweet sapphic historical. it took me a while to get into, though. for like the entire first half, I just didn't . . . care. part of this was probably because I didn't feel like the reader got to know jo very well at all through the entire book. the premise was not my favorite either. when I requested the arc, I didn't fully understand how stressful the circumstances of the story would be, much more stressful than I prefer the plots of my romances to be. the vibes weren't tense, but the situations were, and I didn't like that. one thing I did really like was the lack of a third act breakup.
cws: moderate sexual content, grief, pregnancy, mentions of death in childbirth
this was a sweet sapphic historical. it took me a while to get into, though. for like the entire first half, I just didn't . . . care. part of this was probably because I didn't feel like the reader got to know jo very well at all through the entire book. the premise was not my favorite either. when I requested the arc, I didn't fully understand how stressful the circumstances of the story would be, much more stressful than I prefer the plots of my romances to be. the vibes weren't tense, but the situations were, and I didn't like that. one thing I did really like was the lack of a third act breakup.
cws: moderate sexual content, grief, pregnancy, mentions of death in childbirth
Starring Joan Crawford: The Films, the Fantasy, and the Modern Relevance of a Silver Screen Icon by Samuel Garza Bernstein
informative
medium-paced
3.75
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc!!!
this book was very unique in its accessibility to both Joan Crawford fans and those who just want to learn more about her. I think it is a decent addition to the canon of Crawford biographies. I am not a huge Crawford fan specifically, but I do love old Hollywood and so I know a bit about her from that, and this was a solid read for me. It had a lot of good information that I found interesting. I couldn't quite figure out how I felt about the whole "imagining what movies Crawford would have been in if she were alive today" though. There were definitely aspects of the writing that screamed millennial cringe, which is a criticism I've had for a lot of my reads lately. My only other criticism was that it was occasionally difficult to tell if the author was quoting someone or not, but hopefully that was just in the ARC and will not be present in the finished book.
this book was very unique in its accessibility to both Joan Crawford fans and those who just want to learn more about her. I think it is a decent addition to the canon of Crawford biographies. I am not a huge Crawford fan specifically, but I do love old Hollywood and so I know a bit about her from that, and this was a solid read for me. It had a lot of good information that I found interesting. I couldn't quite figure out how I felt about the whole "imagining what movies Crawford would have been in if she were alive today" though. There were definitely aspects of the writing that screamed millennial cringe, which is a criticism I've had for a lot of my reads lately. My only other criticism was that it was occasionally difficult to tell if the author was quoting someone or not, but hopefully that was just in the ARC and will not be present in the finished book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse
The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Earls Trip by Jenny Holiday
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
3.75
i totally read this because of the cover, and it was an enjoyable enough read. it had its flaws, but it was not bad.