BOOK: A Conjuring of Light (2017)

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A Conjuring of LightYear: 2017Author: V.E. SchwabLength: 1,143 minutes / 19.05 hours While it took me some time to get to book 2 of the Shades of Magic series, that cliffhanger required me to jump into A Conjuring of Light soon after just to keep everything fresh. At the very least, once I finished this book, I'd be done with the series and could move on to something else. You'd think I'd learn from the first two books, but I didn't particularly care for this author's style, and this book kept those flaws. For a book that picked up at the exciting conclusion of A Gathering of Shadows, it certainly took its time getting started. The stakes never felt significant enough to propel the story, which was why there were so many chapters dedicated to the characters (both major and minor) just existing. And when the main characters are boring enough that there needs to be minor character filler, that's not a...
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MOVIE: East of Eden (1955)

by benmweilertNo Comments
East of Eden Year: 1955 Rating: PG Length: 118 minutes / 1.97 hours East of Eden (1955) is one of those films that are famous only for who is in it and who originally wrote it. If this wasn’t one of the few roles James Dean had before his unfortunate death, I’m not sure I’d have watched it. Even if it’s based on a Steinbeck book, I think I’d prefer The Grapes of Wrath (1940) or Of Mice and Men (1939) to this. Still, there is some artistic merit to this film, even if it didn’t cover the entirety of the source material. It just goes to show how a movie can have staying power just from the people tied to it. Notably, I did enjoy pieces of the cinematography in East of Eden. In particular, when James Dean’s character is on the porch swing, that scene was shot in such a way that I haven’t seen done before or since. And while Dean’s performance...
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