Bill's Reviews (2024)

22/08/2022

Fire & Blood
George R. R. Martin
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Did y’all catch Episode 1 last night!! It got me pumped for the rest of the season. I’m glad I took the time to read this book before the show started, I feel like I appreciate the show more.

I started reading this book to prepare me for the new show, House of the Dragon. This book covers all of the events of that show, I’m sure and more. It is very detailed and entertaining. After reading all of the Songs of Ice and Fire it was nice to return to Weteros. There were times where the story lagged for me. A lot of names and changing of the guards, especially during regencies. Overall, I did enjoy this book. Now I’ll have to see where GRRM is at for volume 2. I wonder if that will be finished before Ice and Fire saga is finished.

21/08/2022

Me Talk Pretty One Day
David Sedaris
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was my first time reading anything by David Sedaris and found his writing to be very clever. This is for people who’s sense of humor is more dry. It wasn’t a laugh out loud ride, but was full of interesting stories. I especially found the stories of his time in Paris very interesting. As someone who aspires to live out of the US this was somewhat encouraging. Though I don’t think I could take having a language teacher as rude as the one he describes. After reading this I intend to pick up more David Sedaris books in the future. Not sure which one will be next though.
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30/12/2021

Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe In American History
S.C. Gwynne
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Very detailed, as detailed you can be I suppose, if the rise and fall of the Comanche tribes in the southern plains. I first heard of this from a Dollop podcast episode and was excited to read it. Has some interesting history tie ins for The Texas Rangers as well as with the Civil War and the birth of Texas. It drags in some spots, but it’s very detailed and interesting If you’re interested in Native American history. It doesn’t paint Comanches as the victims 100% of the time, which I think is very authentic. Though it does show how the US kept moving them around. I especially liked the explanation Quanah gave where he sat on a log with a man and kept asking him to scoot over until he fell off. Overall, good read.

01/12/2021

Red Notice

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was one of those movies that you’re glad came with your monthly subscription payment. I feel like this would have been a disaster date movie selection, one on the same level as Red, where I would lose my movie selecting privileges for a couple dates. It was funny at times, it tried to be heart felt at times. It was interesting, I knew there would be twists I just couldn’t nail down the exact twist. I mean at one point Ryan Reynolds is whistling the Indian Jones theme music as he and The Rock are about to discover a hidden N**i treasure cave. It’s insane, and the know it’s insane, which maybe it’s saving grace.

What can I say I enjoy the actors in this. Though, I didn’t realize after Deadpool and Deadpool 2 that There is such a thing as too much Ryan Reynolds but Red Notice got dangerously close. Could be that it’s not a superhero or antihero movie so the vail had been lifted. Overall, it’s an OK background movie to have on while you’re doing HW or balancing the check book or something.

25/10/2021

It was a raining Zoo Boo this year but we still had a good time. Can you guess what we are?

06/10/2021

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I waited to watch the movie until after I read the book. Not for any particular reason beside I wanted to be able to say, “have you read the book. I have and it’s better”. I have to say, I think this was a good adaptation of the source material and I loved the casting. Gary Oldman as George Smiley is fantastic and I would to see him portray Smiley in future adaptations. The acting was good, and I think it did a good job of cutting through all the details that John Le Carre put into the book. It’s a slow burn for sure, but if you enjoy good acting and a good story, this should go in your watchable queue.

02/10/2021

My wife and I went on a double date last night to Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle to see Joe List( ) do standup live. What a great night of comedy. From the host to the feature(Sarah Tollemache; ) to Joe List the Headliner it was such a great show. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long ass time. If you have the chance to go see Joe List live, I highly recommend it, the dude is amazingly funny.

20/09/2021

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️👌
A little late to the party on this one, but that’s what happens when you have kids. I thought Shang-Chi was great! I’m a big fan of kung fu movies, or to say I’m becoming one. This hit all the marks for me, it’s integrated into the MCU and discusses the post Blip life. It has some cosmic or ancient details as to the origins of the rings, and it has martial arts fights scenes which I thought were really great. The only part I wasn’t into as much as the huge CGI battle at the end. This rocketed up my MCU charts though for sure. It’s fun, and the pace is great. I can’t wait to see more of the Shang-Chi character moving forward in the MCU. Though, I hope the fact that he has the power of the rings does not take over the action in the proceeding films. I still would like Shang-Chi to be the Master of Kung Fu.

18/09/2021

The Tomorrow War

⭐️⭐️
This movie was going to be a three star movie until it went on too long. This should have ended with Chris Pratt’s character jumping back from the future. I would have been have with a celebratory montage of him growing old watching his daughter grow up with a nice voice over on how they mass produced the toxin and were prepared for the white spikes to arrive. But NO! We had to get the second half of the movie. Which in a world that is wildly unbelievable and pushed it over the line where that is entertaining to just hand to face awful. I expect more from Pratt. I’m not sure why the third act was green lit. This is as close to Salt bad, but not as bad. Watch at your own risk.

16/09/2021

We Broke Up

⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is the type of indie romantic comedy that I tend to enjoy. Not huge production value but fun and real. If you are an Aha Cash fan then I think you will enjoy this movie. When a couple that’s been going out for 10 years realize they don’t want the same things in life they have to do the right thing and break up. That tends to be difficult when this realization occurs on the eve of a wedding they are in together. Awkwardness and comedy ensue. William Jackson Harper does a good job as the boyfriend trying to keep it together for the weekend. Aya is being Aya, confused and unsure about her feelings and decisions. This was a nice, simple watch. Good for a random night in.

15/09/2021

The Hunt

⭐️⭐️⭐️
I was excited for this movie. I like a lot of the actors in this movie. But, I have to say when I finally sat down to watch The Hunt i was a bit disappointed. I liked the approach or how they flipped it from what I thought it was going to be about. It’s taking the phrase “political Hunger Games” and making it very literal. It’s liberal vs conservative, and not in the way you’d think. The big reveal at the end is very funny to me though. If you have time, give it a watch but I wouldn’t bend over backwards to watch The Hunt. Don’t get attached to anyone.

14/09/2021

KATE

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Holy cow! This was so much better then what I expected. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is a badass! I initially thought it would be something like Ava, and to some extent it was formulaic and similar. But boy, Kate is leaps and bounds ahead when it comes to the violence and fight scenes. The fight scene in the restaurant alone is worth the price of admission. This is a ride and I was here for it. At the end, I was secretly hoping that there would be a clean lead into a sequel called Ani, but I don’t think we will get that flick. I also enjoyed that the ending was the ending. In movies today it’s common to have multiple ending scenes and it gets old. Kate did not do that in my opinion. This should become a and I would live to hear .serrano and discuss this film. I recommend it for sure.

13/09/2021

Freaky

⭐️⭐️⭐️👌
I don’t typically watch horror movies, but when there is a horror movie where Vince Vaughan has to act like he’s a 16 year old girl for 75% of the movie I’ll give it a go. Freaky took the fun body swap troupe from films like Freaky Friday and added in a horror twist. What happens when you swap bodies with a serial killer? For a campy horror film this was good, and fun. The horror and jump scares weren’t too great. The horror was mostly just graphic gore and violence, so don’t watch it with your kids. Overall, not too bad, I’d watch it again.

12/09/2021

Our Friend

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It is a touching portrait of having someone there in your time of need and how you can’t do everything yourself. Jason Siegel is The Friend who drops everything in his life to come and help his two best friends, Matt and Nicole, navigate Nicole’s terminal cancer diagnosis. Man, as a parent this hit differently. The acting was really great, the story was really sad and happy at the same time. I’d hope if I was in a situation like that I could do a bucket list of activities before it was too late and have a friend who would stick around until the end. I’ve missed seeing Jason Siegel in moves and I was glad to see him on the screen again. I recommend this movie if you are in for a heartfelt movie that will make you laugh and cry.

07/09/2021

The Kissing Booth 3

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’m a sucker for movies like this. This in particular hits close to home for me. Overall, I’m a completely so having had watched The Kissing Booth and The Kissing Booth 2 I knew I just had to finish the trilogy. This is, of course l, a cheesy and sappy movie where the main character Elle is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Does she go to Harvard and move in with her older Boyfriend OR does she go to UC Berkley with her best friend like they have planned since they were little. Follow the BF or follow a best friend, not super high stakes but when you’re in high school you feel like this is the biggest issue in the world. Of course, she figures out through external advice that MAYBE she should be make choices that will make HER happy and not to please others. There were a lot of different story lines in this movie and it’s totally unrealistic, at least from what I remember summers in PA were like, maybe summers in California are this way. Either way, it’s cute and sappy and cheesy and all the things you want in a romantic comedy. Not great but not awful. If you haven’t seen the previous two then don’t bother with this one.

02/09/2021

Sweet Girl

⭐️⭐️⭐️👌
I had my doubts about this movie. The premiss is Big Pharma is bad and government is complacent or even worse backing Big Pharma. We are agree medical prices are super high compared to other countries. So what would you do if you couldn’t afford the medicine to help your significant other beat cancer. Or if you found out a cheaper generic version of a medicine was shelved by a bigger pharmaceutical company so they could make more profit? This is the movie that explores that question. It’s like a action movie with some good fighting scenes and a great twist. I was doubtful, but ended up being pleasantly surprised and really like it. Jason Momoa did a good job, man he is a handsome actor. I hadn’t seen him act with such emotion before, this was a good roll for him for sure.

21/07/2021

Confessions of a Bronx Bookie
Billy O’Conner
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book tells the tail of a alcoholic, drug and gambling addict and how through life’s ups and downs he was able to find God and a path to something new. Some of the stories told in this book were out of this world. All the alcohol and drugs and drunk driving were a lot, and not all the stories were funny like a Tucker Max story. Billy O’Connor has lived a life and then some. I found the through line of God speaking to him through different people interesting and I want to know if he ever figured out why those two random people said “Nice night for a murder”. Very interesting read and riveting too. I couldn’t put it down at the end. I was really curious to see how he would end up. His writing jumps around a bit from chapter to chapter and I had some difficulty following the timeline and dates, besides that, I highly recommend it.

15/07/2021

Yearbook
Seth Rogan
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Funny book filled with some funny stories. Would have liked to hear more stories from shows such as freaks and geeks. He kinda just goes from being in high school to living in LA post freaks and geeks. Also, would have been interesting to hear more about the Apatow productions. Overall though, I enjoyed it very much.

Bill's Reviews