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Alison Pink (7 KP) rated The Most Dangerous Thing in Books
Jan 15, 2018
This is the first Laura Lippman novel I've read. I had heard fantastic things about her writing style & her ability to write real life characters in real life, yet intriguing situations. This book fits into both of those molds.
The Most Dangerous Thing bounces around through the lives of 5 children. Its focal point is one summer in 1979 & the events that happened while the kids were having adventures in the forest around their homes. The story bounces around quite a bit, but is never hard to follow. The story arc is interesting & very believable. The many & varied characters you meet throughout are all interesting, but not too over the top to prevent you from thinking they couldn't be real. The story really isn't completely known until the very end of the book. I kept guessing at what was what & who did what. I skirted around what "really happened" but never did manage to figure it out.
So, what makes me give it a 3? Well if there were 1/2 stars it would be a 3 & 1/2 if that helps. It was interesting, but I could put it down & not have that burning itch to know what was going to happen. Yet at the same time it was satisfyingly frustrating...I was never quite sure what was going to happen to the main characters.
The Most Dangerous Thing bounces around through the lives of 5 children. Its focal point is one summer in 1979 & the events that happened while the kids were having adventures in the forest around their homes. The story bounces around quite a bit, but is never hard to follow. The story arc is interesting & very believable. The many & varied characters you meet throughout are all interesting, but not too over the top to prevent you from thinking they couldn't be real. The story really isn't completely known until the very end of the book. I kept guessing at what was what & who did what. I skirted around what "really happened" but never did manage to figure it out.
So, what makes me give it a 3? Well if there were 1/2 stars it would be a 3 & 1/2 if that helps. It was interesting, but I could put it down & not have that burning itch to know what was going to happen. Yet at the same time it was satisfyingly frustrating...I was never quite sure what was going to happen to the main characters.
Christine A. (965 KP) rated Beneath the Attic in Books
Jan 14, 2020
Prequel to Flowers in the Attic
โI was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.
Beneath the Attic is the prequel to the wildly popular Dollangager family series by V.C. Andrews. The most well known is the first in the series, Flowers in the Attic which was published in 1979. Beneath the Attic is the 6th book published.
Beneath the Attic tells the story of Corrine Dixon, the grandmother of Corrine Foxworth, the main character in Flowers in the Attic. I felt its description is misleading. It does not discuss the early parts of the book and focuses on the later parts. However, the story offers a close look at the family. The story ends as if the story was divided into 2 and the rest would be left to the sequel. A continuation of Beneath the Attic, Out of the Attic, is scheduled to be published in 2020.
The original author of the Dollangager series, V.C. Andrews died in 1986. Since then, numerous books published under the name V.C. Andrews have been ghostwritten by Andrew Neiderman. Many reviews have written harshly about the later books. It might be because they know they are written by a different author. Neiderman captures V.C.Andrews' writing style accurately.
I preordered Beneath the Attic's continuation, Out of the Attic.
This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 1/13/20.
Beneath the Attic is the prequel to the wildly popular Dollangager family series by V.C. Andrews. The most well known is the first in the series, Flowers in the Attic which was published in 1979. Beneath the Attic is the 6th book published.
Beneath the Attic tells the story of Corrine Dixon, the grandmother of Corrine Foxworth, the main character in Flowers in the Attic. I felt its description is misleading. It does not discuss the early parts of the book and focuses on the later parts. However, the story offers a close look at the family. The story ends as if the story was divided into 2 and the rest would be left to the sequel. A continuation of Beneath the Attic, Out of the Attic, is scheduled to be published in 2020.
The original author of the Dollangager series, V.C. Andrews died in 1986. Since then, numerous books published under the name V.C. Andrews have been ghostwritten by Andrew Neiderman. Many reviews have written harshly about the later books. It might be because they know they are written by a different author. Neiderman captures V.C.Andrews' writing style accurately.
I preordered Beneath the Attic's continuation, Out of the Attic.
This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 1/13/20.
Jerry Cantrell recommended The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd in Music (curated)
Suggs recommended The Specials by Specials in Music (curated)
Martin Carr recommended track Oliver's Army (with Elvis Costello & The Attractions) by Elvis Costello / Elvis Costello & The Attractions in Armed Forces by Elvis Costello / Elvis Costello & The Attractions in Music (curated)
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated the Xbox One version of Alien: Isolation in Video Games
Jan 22, 2020
Isolation Within Inside The Ship
Alien Isolation- is a phenomenal game, its terrorfying, horrorfying, scary, and overall fantastic survival game. Think Dead Space, Lost Planet and Prey combind into one epic game.
The game is set 15 years after the events of the original 1979 film Alien, and follows engineer Amanda Ripley, daughter of Alien protagonist Ellen Ripley, as she investigates the disappearance of her mother. Which is cool, because now you in the shoes of Ripley's daughter, trying to find her mom.
The Game requiries the player to avoid and outsmart a single Alien creature with tools such as a motion tracker and flamethrower.
The player can use the motion tracker to track the Alien's location. While motion was detected in front of the tracker, a circle will appear on its screen, indicating where the motion is detected. Which you will use often to track where the alien is.
The Alien creature cannot be defeated, requiring the player to use stealth tactics in order to survive. Instead of following a predetermined path, the Alien has the ability to actively investigate disturbances and hunt the player by sight or sound. Along the way, the player can use both a flashlight and a motion tracker to detect the Alien's movements. However, using any of these increases the chance of the Alien finding the player. For example, if the Alien is moving and close enough, the tracker's sound will attract the Alien, forcing the player to use the tracker wisely and remove it as soon as it detects motion. The motion tracker cannot detect enemies when they are not moving and cannot determine if the alien creature is up in the ducts or on ground level.
You have to use your survival skills and your stealth skills cause you dont you will get killed often by the alien.
A must play game for those who love the alien franchise and those who love survival isolation stealth horror games like Dead Space, Lost Planet and Prey.
The game is set 15 years after the events of the original 1979 film Alien, and follows engineer Amanda Ripley, daughter of Alien protagonist Ellen Ripley, as she investigates the disappearance of her mother. Which is cool, because now you in the shoes of Ripley's daughter, trying to find her mom.
The Game requiries the player to avoid and outsmart a single Alien creature with tools such as a motion tracker and flamethrower.
The player can use the motion tracker to track the Alien's location. While motion was detected in front of the tracker, a circle will appear on its screen, indicating where the motion is detected. Which you will use often to track where the alien is.
The Alien creature cannot be defeated, requiring the player to use stealth tactics in order to survive. Instead of following a predetermined path, the Alien has the ability to actively investigate disturbances and hunt the player by sight or sound. Along the way, the player can use both a flashlight and a motion tracker to detect the Alien's movements. However, using any of these increases the chance of the Alien finding the player. For example, if the Alien is moving and close enough, the tracker's sound will attract the Alien, forcing the player to use the tracker wisely and remove it as soon as it detects motion. The motion tracker cannot detect enemies when they are not moving and cannot determine if the alien creature is up in the ducts or on ground level.
You have to use your survival skills and your stealth skills cause you dont you will get killed often by the alien.
A must play game for those who love the alien franchise and those who love survival isolation stealth horror games like Dead Space, Lost Planet and Prey.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated the Xbox One version of Friday the 13th : The Game in Video Games
Feb 26, 2020
Now This Is A Friday The 13th Game
Friday The 13th- is a movie franchise, the had a video game on the NES but it was god awful. So many years later, a kickstarter happened for this game and overall, US$422,866 was raised by 18,068 backers in BackerKit and about US$823,704.20 from 12,128 backers in Kickstarter, collecting about US$1,246,570.20 from both platforms, becoming the 95th most crowdfunded project of all time. So yea it succed. So lets talk about the game.
Gameplay:
Friday the 13th: The Game is a semi-open world third-person survival horror game set throughout the 1980s in a variety of locations in and around the fictional Camp Crystal Lake from the Friday the 13th franchise.
The game is an asymmetrical multiplayer video game, with up to eight people able to play in one game session. One player is randomly selected to control Jason Voorhees.
The main objective of playing as a counselor is to escape the map alive, which can be done more quickly by completing the map's side objectives (which are easier to complete when coordinating with other players) that will allow counselors to escape or to survive long enough until time runs out on the session, Jason may also be defeated with an "epic win condition" that requires both teamwork and planning, and is difficult to perform. A player may also control Tommy Jarvis, who becomes playable when certain conditions are met.
Setting: Five primary maps are available, each of which are based on locations from the first five films, and each set concurrent with the films' time periods. Matches may take place at: Camp Crystal Lake, the setting of the first film, in 1979; Packanack Lodge, the setting of the second film, in 1984; Higgins Haven, the setting of the third film, in 1984; the Jarvis House, the setting of the fourth film, in 1984; and Pinehurst, the setting of the fifth film, in 1989.
Its a really good, entertaining, fun and overall finally a good Friday The 13th game.
Gameplay:
Friday the 13th: The Game is a semi-open world third-person survival horror game set throughout the 1980s in a variety of locations in and around the fictional Camp Crystal Lake from the Friday the 13th franchise.
The game is an asymmetrical multiplayer video game, with up to eight people able to play in one game session. One player is randomly selected to control Jason Voorhees.
The main objective of playing as a counselor is to escape the map alive, which can be done more quickly by completing the map's side objectives (which are easier to complete when coordinating with other players) that will allow counselors to escape or to survive long enough until time runs out on the session, Jason may also be defeated with an "epic win condition" that requires both teamwork and planning, and is difficult to perform. A player may also control Tommy Jarvis, who becomes playable when certain conditions are met.
Setting: Five primary maps are available, each of which are based on locations from the first five films, and each set concurrent with the films' time periods. Matches may take place at: Camp Crystal Lake, the setting of the first film, in 1979; Packanack Lodge, the setting of the second film, in 1984; Higgins Haven, the setting of the third film, in 1984; the Jarvis House, the setting of the fourth film, in 1984; and Pinehurst, the setting of the fifth film, in 1989.
Its a really good, entertaining, fun and overall finally a good Friday The 13th game.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Disorder (Maryland) (2015) in Movies
Dec 7, 2020
"๐'๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ข๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข ๐จ๐ถ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ
๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ?
๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด, ๐ด๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ถ๐ญ๐ต๐ด, ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ
๐'๐ท๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต, ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ
๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐บ"
- "Disorder", Joy Division 1979
Sort of like if ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต existed in the same universe as ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ. Not too much you haven't seen before but a total technical marvel - very few times before has a camera been *this* intrinsically linked to a character's psyche: constantly shifting focus, shifting in and out of reality, overanalyzing every little minutia to the point of near blinding anxiety - if it isn't a threat yet it'll be hyperfocused on until it becomes one, real or not. The sort of moviemaking that makes you second guess everything you just saw right through to its bone-chilling ending. That being said it does strain in the home stretch but not only is this sort of stylish, synthy slow burn thriller inherently fun to me - but it says something interesting when the only time this settles down is during the kind of dangerous situation this character is scrambling to find, only in moments of repose do things become truly jangled - where "the calm before the storm" *is* the storm, and vice-versa. Schoenaerts is incredible in it, the type of towering, volatile performance that makes you break a sweat. Every time this guy moves suddenly it about makes my heart stop and when he finally cracks a genuine smile an hour+ in it's a momentous occasion. At first you may think (not so unjustifiably given Hollywood's history with PTSD) that the title is a reductive swipe at his affliction, but as the movie progresses you realize it signifies his commanding search for some semblance of order in his life. Far from flawless but for the most part precisely what I was hoping for out of it.
๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ?
๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด, ๐ด๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ถ๐ญ๐ต๐ด, ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ
๐'๐ท๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต, ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ
๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐บ"
- "Disorder", Joy Division 1979
Sort of like if ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต existed in the same universe as ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ. Not too much you haven't seen before but a total technical marvel - very few times before has a camera been *this* intrinsically linked to a character's psyche: constantly shifting focus, shifting in and out of reality, overanalyzing every little minutia to the point of near blinding anxiety - if it isn't a threat yet it'll be hyperfocused on until it becomes one, real or not. The sort of moviemaking that makes you second guess everything you just saw right through to its bone-chilling ending. That being said it does strain in the home stretch but not only is this sort of stylish, synthy slow burn thriller inherently fun to me - but it says something interesting when the only time this settles down is during the kind of dangerous situation this character is scrambling to find, only in moments of repose do things become truly jangled - where "the calm before the storm" *is* the storm, and vice-versa. Schoenaerts is incredible in it, the type of towering, volatile performance that makes you break a sweat. Every time this guy moves suddenly it about makes my heart stop and when he finally cracks a genuine smile an hour+ in it's a momentous occasion. At first you may think (not so unjustifiably given Hollywood's history with PTSD) that the title is a reductive swipe at his affliction, but as the movie progresses you realize it signifies his commanding search for some semblance of order in his life. Far from flawless but for the most part precisely what I was hoping for out of it.
Andy K (10821 KP) rated The Brood (1979) in Movies
Sep 22, 2019
An R rated version of Inside Out?
Frank Carveth is just a father with some problems. His wife is currently enrolled in an intense, secluded, mysterious form of psychotherapy being conducted by an unusual doctor. His eccentric mother-in-law, has just been murdered through unusual circumstances and his young daughter is showing signs of physical abuse at the hands of his institutionalized wife that he must now investigate.
After the murder, his father-in-law also arrives, the situation worsens as he attempts to visit his daughter while in therapy without success. Still grief stricken, he wants to confront the doctor or at least understand what is happening.
Here is where the story becomes very unusual. The brutality being dispatched to various individuals is being administered by disfigured "dwarves" or misshapen children which makes no sense to Frank or the police which asks more questions.
After learning additional details, Frank returns to his wife's benefactor for a final confrontation with her and the doctor to ensure the release of his kidnapped daughter.
Cronenberg's early body horror films still stand as some of the most provocative of the gene and this film is certainly no exception. The deformed assailants provide immediate unique intrigue in the film representing something you have never seen previously and it only gets worse.
The total brutality they complete upon their victims is worsened by the fact some of it is even performed in front of children who would obviously be scarred for years to come.
The final reveal of "The Brood" is so intense, bizarre and graphic it will still turn off, repulse or offend almost anyone who watches it. Only true fans of the macabre, strange and totally extreme will find this palpable.
The great Oliver Reed is especially intense in his performance as the unconventional doctor performing his ritualistic treatments which include offbeat role plays where he has conversations with his patents pretending to be other people.
I can only imagine the reaction this film had upon its release in 1979.
After the murder, his father-in-law also arrives, the situation worsens as he attempts to visit his daughter while in therapy without success. Still grief stricken, he wants to confront the doctor or at least understand what is happening.
Here is where the story becomes very unusual. The brutality being dispatched to various individuals is being administered by disfigured "dwarves" or misshapen children which makes no sense to Frank or the police which asks more questions.
After learning additional details, Frank returns to his wife's benefactor for a final confrontation with her and the doctor to ensure the release of his kidnapped daughter.
Cronenberg's early body horror films still stand as some of the most provocative of the gene and this film is certainly no exception. The deformed assailants provide immediate unique intrigue in the film representing something you have never seen previously and it only gets worse.
The total brutality they complete upon their victims is worsened by the fact some of it is even performed in front of children who would obviously be scarred for years to come.
The final reveal of "The Brood" is so intense, bizarre and graphic it will still turn off, repulse or offend almost anyone who watches it. Only true fans of the macabre, strange and totally extreme will find this palpable.
The great Oliver Reed is especially intense in his performance as the unconventional doctor performing his ritualistic treatments which include offbeat role plays where he has conversations with his patents pretending to be other people.
I can only imagine the reaction this film had upon its release in 1979.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated The Brood (1979) in Movies
Sep 4, 2020 (Updated Sep 4, 2020)
They're Waiting For You
Man i love David Cronenberg, his horror films are disturbing, disgusting, gory, burtal, horrorfying and terrorfying. All of those words describe this film.
The plot: follows a man and his mentally-ill ex-wife, who has been sequestered by a psychologist known for his controversial therapy techniques. A series of brutal unsolved murders serves as the backdrop for the central narrative.
Conceived by Cronenberg after his own acrimonious divorce, he intended the screenplay as a meditation on a fractured relationship between a husband and wife who share a child, and cast Eggar and Hindle as loose facsimiles of himself and his ex-wife. He would later state that, despite its incorporation of science fiction elements, he considered it his sole feature that most embodied a "classic horror film".
Written in the aftermath of writer-director Cronenberg's divorce from his wife, The Brood has been noted by critics and film scholars for its prominent themes surrounding fears of parenthood, as well as corollary preoccupations with repression and the treatment of mental illness in women.
The Brood is my version of Kramer vs. Kramer, but more realistic." โCronenberg commenting on his concept of the film, 1979.
In retrospect, Cronenberg stated that he felt The Brood was "the most classic horror film I've done" in terms of structure.
The Brood had cuts demanded for its theatrical release in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom. Eggar conceived of the idea of licking the new fetuses that her character Nola Carveth has spawned. "I just thought that when cats have their kittens or dogs have puppies (and I think at that time I had about 8 dogs), they lick them as soon as theyโre born. Lick, lick, lick, lick, lickโฆ," Eggar said.
However, when the climactic scene was censored, Cronenberg responded: "I had a long and loving close-up of Samantha licking the fetus [โฆ] when the censors, those animals, cut it out, the result was that a lot of people thought she was eating her baby. That's much worse than I was suggesting.
Its a distubing film but a excellent film.
The plot: follows a man and his mentally-ill ex-wife, who has been sequestered by a psychologist known for his controversial therapy techniques. A series of brutal unsolved murders serves as the backdrop for the central narrative.
Conceived by Cronenberg after his own acrimonious divorce, he intended the screenplay as a meditation on a fractured relationship between a husband and wife who share a child, and cast Eggar and Hindle as loose facsimiles of himself and his ex-wife. He would later state that, despite its incorporation of science fiction elements, he considered it his sole feature that most embodied a "classic horror film".
Written in the aftermath of writer-director Cronenberg's divorce from his wife, The Brood has been noted by critics and film scholars for its prominent themes surrounding fears of parenthood, as well as corollary preoccupations with repression and the treatment of mental illness in women.
The Brood is my version of Kramer vs. Kramer, but more realistic." โCronenberg commenting on his concept of the film, 1979.
In retrospect, Cronenberg stated that he felt The Brood was "the most classic horror film I've done" in terms of structure.
The Brood had cuts demanded for its theatrical release in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom. Eggar conceived of the idea of licking the new fetuses that her character Nola Carveth has spawned. "I just thought that when cats have their kittens or dogs have puppies (and I think at that time I had about 8 dogs), they lick them as soon as theyโre born. Lick, lick, lick, lick, lickโฆ," Eggar said.
However, when the climactic scene was censored, Cronenberg responded: "I had a long and loving close-up of Samantha licking the fetus [โฆ] when the censors, those animals, cut it out, the result was that a lot of people thought she was eating her baby. That's much worse than I was suggesting.
Its a distubing film but a excellent film.