My top reviews of the year - Top 12

So, I’ve been blogging for a little more than a year now and have reviewed loads of things. Thanks to the Western Regional Section of the LAI and the Rudai 23course I’ve gotten off to a great start and published over 100 blogs so far. I’ve reviewed loads of books, movies and TV series. It would have been cool if it were a top 10 list, but it turns out I gave 12 reviews a 10 out of 10 planet, so here is a round-up of the best of the best:

I have to start with Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda(Book Review). This is by far one of my fave reads in the last year, an amazing book written by Becky Albertalli telling us of the story of Simon, how he is as normal as most other teenagers with the same problems and – oh ya – he’s gay.

 

Quote: "Your real friends will not have a problem when you come out and if they do, well they weren't true friends in the first place. You can go and find some better ones"

 

This is closely followed by Love Simon, a seminal movie for the LGBT community, the first proper – big budget – big production of a young teens coming out story based on Albertalli's book.

 

Quote: "You get to exhale now, Simon ... You get to be more you than you've been in a very long time”

  

Deadpool 2 (movie review) is the fab sequel from the Marvel Universe; it's possible the odd occasion where the sequel is better than it’s predecessor.

Quote: "the soundtrack, it's just amazing. Songs like Celine Dion's "Ashes", Dolly Parton's "9 to 5," and even "Tomorrow" from Annie accompany some of the movie's most violent scenes, making for a delightfully weird playlist.  Weird yes, perfect also yes "

  

History is all you left me  (Book Review) is an amazing book dealing with love, loss and rebuilding one's soul. The author Adam Silvera is great, check out all the other titles he has.

Quote: "The short sticatto sentences are brutal and honest. In one paragraph we learn so much about Theo. The last sentence is just perfect. Sums up the whole book really. It’s been one month since you lived. It’s a beautifully written story of grief, rebuilding and hope. A must read"

The supernatural horror - The Lodgers (Movie Review) - was amazing and to see something filmed in my home town of Wexford is great. An awesome screenplay by talented writer David Turpin makes this a must see. 

Quote: "When you see the interior parts of The Lodgers, the closest movie I can compare it to is Crimson Peak. Seriously, the visuals and feel of the crumbling building stack up against the multi-million-dollar creation of recent Oscar winner Guillermo Del Toro" 

Noah Can’t Even  (Book Review) is one of the funniest reads I've gotten my mitts on in ages. Another must read by the very talented Simon James Green

Quote: "Skittles and Haribo will solve all problems"

 

 

Ant-Man and the Wasp (movie review) is another great movie from the Marvel universe. A great plus is that it is stand-alone and can be viewed without extensive knowledge of all the Marvel movies over the last few years (of which there has been way way too many)

 

 

Quote: "The fight scenes are awesome, the special effects are brilliant but more than anything the story, dialog and interactions between the characters are really funny"

 

 

As part of the Rudai23 course I was doing, here's a blog on using the App Quik which allows you to make a video/photograph slideshow with a soundtrack 

 

 

Quote: “ It was really intuitive and with no instructions one could use it straight “out of the box”

 

 

 

Logan (movie review)

 

One of my fave ALL time movies, Logan is the story of (Wolverine) and Charles (Professor X), in this time-line they are the only two superheros left in the World.  Patrick Stewart (who might return as Captain Picard) proves yet again that he is one of the best actors to ever grace the screen. We also cannot discount Hugh Jackman - possible the Greatest Showman on Earth, only gets better with age.

 

I also speak about the "Disneyfication" of movies in this review. 

Quote: "Stewart is amazing, portraying the role of an old man losing control over his mind with poignant understanding and realism"

 

 

 

I came across this gem of a book in work and just had to add it to my blog - Declaration of the Rights of Boys & Girls.

 

 

 

Quote: "The illustrations are fun and cheerful, girls having the right to be dirty and boys having the right to wear pink ... the book does a fantastic job of spreading a message of equality without being preachy or insulting to anyone’s faith ... It is quite frankly a book that every child from the age of 3 should have on their shelf"

 

 

 

Last year we saw the remake of IT by Stephen King, hitting our screens with mixed reviews but I loved it.

 

 

 

I talk about remakes and then review IT. The second part is due to be released in September 2019.

Quote: "Final Verdict:  A massive success that will instil a fear of clowns for generations to come"

And finally, my first podcast (but hopefully not last) I reviewed 3 movies together with Black Panther getting the highest marks. All I can say is it's an awesome movie and of course #Representation Matters

That's me all done. Please like and follow me on FACEBOOK to keep up to date with all my blogs.

Thanks for reading and thanks for all the fish.

John The Captain Ryan