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A good addition to the series
The House of Secret by Terry Lynn Thomas
Published by HQ Digital on 11th April 2019
252 pages
Following on from Sarah Bennett’s father’s murder trial, Sarah gets given a job working with psychiatrist Dr Matthew Geisler. With his fascination into the supernatural, Sarah sees it as a chance to escape the public eye.
Whilst I have read The Spirit of Grace, you don’t have to, to enjoy this story. Anything that was relevant from book 1 was explained in detail, without spoiling the flow. I liked that Sarah was still inquisitive and even having suffered a life-threatening accident, it didn’t stop her trying to help Minna, who was having a really bad time at the Geisler’s Institute. Although there were times that Sarah was put under a lot of pressure from Zeke, Dr Geisler and even Alysse, she was still determined to find out who was behind the threats.
Whilst Zeke being housed in the hospital for his injuries pleased Sarah, as he was so close to her, there were moments that she doubted the real reason he was there. At times it did get annoying as Sarah knew what Zeke did for a living and should have understood that there were occasions that she could not be his No1 priority. However, this did not detract from the mystery and they did work well together.
Whilst the story centred around the characters already mentioned, there were some other characters, that had their own story to tell. Mr Collins, an accomplished pianist, Cynthia Forrester whilst being Sarah’s friend was also a reporter from the San Francisco Chronicle and Aunt Lillian, an eccentric older lady who was Cynthia’s aunt.
The supernatural element was stronger in this story as Sarah was adjusting to her gift and it helped that she had a fan in Dr Geisler. The mystery was well plotted and whilst I had my suspicions who was behind the threats, I could not work the reasons behind them. The story built up to a dramatic ending, with everything explained in detail.
This series can keep going and I hope there will be more to come. If you like historical fiction with an element of supernatural then this is a series for you.
  
Rumpelstiltskin
Rumpelstiltskin
2015 | Bluff, Card Game, Deduction, Fantasy
You know the story: the imp (gnome?) that tricked that one lady into promising him her firstborn child in return for spinning hair into gold? You remember? And then she can get her child back if she can guess his true name? Well this game has nothing to do with most of the story. But, it does center around the name guessing part, so there IS a tie back to the original fable. Guessing names is what it’s all about. But do we like it?

During a game of Rumpelstiltskin the players will be attempting to guess the true name of their opponent. The first one to guess correctly will receive a victory cube. The first player to win three of the five victory cubes is the winner! Each player begins the game with the exact same deck of cards to be shuffled. Place the deck face down in front of you, secretly peek at the card on the bottom of the deck and that is your true name to be guessed. On your turn you will play a card and hopefully be able to guess your opponent’s name. Some cards let you guess when played and some cards let you switch up the cards in your deck or your opponent’s. That’s the game.

Components. So it’s like 20 cards and 5 wooden cubes in a small box. The components are all great, as AEG usually has great components. Nothing super amazing (but that art is pretty pretty pretty good).

Ok so here’s the rub. It’s a game that’s just more of an activity than a game. I see what it’s trying to do, but it’s just not much fun. You can win the game with one card. Or it can drag on for like 3 or even 7 cards… It’s just not any fun for me. I only gave it a 2 rating because the art is great and I chuckle when I hear some people try to pronounce the names on the cards. Other than that I don’t think I will want to play this any more. Let me know if you want to take it off my hands.

Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a woeful 5 / 12.

https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/05/02/rumpelstiltskin-review/
  
BANG!
BANG!
2002 | American West, Bluff, Card Game, Deduction, Fighting
“I’m gonna bang you.” Taken out of context, one might be slapped for saying such things. While playing a rousing game of BANG! The Dice Game, it’s only too common. To “bang” someone (in this game) is to shoot them. With a gun. While Purple Phoenix Games does not condone violence or murder, you gotta admit that banging your friends with no risk of bodily harm is definitely exciting!

Okay, so at its Wild West heart, BANG! The Dice Game is just that: a dice game. Have you played Yahtzee! before? Or anything with the Yahtzee! mechanic? You know, you throw some dice, save one or more for scoring, and can re-roll up to twice more to try to get the desired result? Well now you know how to play BANG! The Dice Game – mostly.

What makes this different and more exciting than Yahtzee! is that everyone will have a special identity which affords them a special player power. It could be re-rolling a specific die face again, or minimizing damage from an attack. Add to that the fact that everyone is also dealt a role card to determine their team affiliation – Sheriff and Deputy, Outlaws, or the Renegade. The Sheriff wins if the bad guys are eliminated, the Deputy wins if the Sheriff survives, the Outlaws win if the Sheriff is eliminated, and the Renegade wins if they are the last one standing.

Now, I didn’t mention that there are “Indians” who could possibly shoot arrows at the players because it’s not politically correct, but this is set in the Old West, and that’s unfortunately what they called Native Americans, and that’s the terminology that is used in the game.

This game boasts a play experience that is fast, engaging on every turn (even the other players’), easy to learn, and just plain hilarious fun. Yes, you could be eliminated in a game, but games typically last like 15-20 minutes, so you don’t have to wait long to get back in the fight.

With easy, fast, and fun gameplay, an interesting theme to role play, and great components, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a rootin’ tootin’ 13 / 18 (Josh hasn’t played it yet).

https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/01/02/bang-the-dice-game-review/
  
John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)
John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)
2019 | Action, Crime, Thriller
“John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum” literally hits the ground running as the film opens with the title star (Keanu Reeves) and his faithful dog running desperately through the rain soaked streets of New York. Wick is set to have every major player after him and 14 million dollar bounty in less than an hour and he is desperate to find a way out of his situation.

Picking up moments from the end of the last film, Wick is persona non grata due to his decision to conduct business on the grounds of the Continental which while providing services and sanctuary to those in his profession; is strictly forbidden.

As he gets closer to the appointed hour; the streets fill with assassins looking to take down the legend and this drives Wick to desperately call in a Marker with a figure from his past (Anjelica Houston) in order to get passage from the city.

Wick hopes that by meeting with the head of the Table he can get the bounty removed and stop running for his life. This of course requires him to deal with figures from his past such as Sofia (Halle Berry) who would sooner shoot him rather than help him due to the enormous risks associated with helping him in any way.

Of course the bodies pile up along the way as Wick dispatches countless foes in creative and brutal fashion showing his reputation is still very well earned.

The film also has a very clever secondary story that involves Winston (Ian McShane) being forced to atone for his willingness to give Wick a one hour head start at the end of the last film and this of course will bring things full circle as Wick must decide what is most important to him as he tries to find a way out of his deadly situation.

Toss in a master assassin (Mark Dacascos) and his army of rogues after Wick and the film never lets up once. It is an epic thrill ride and a symphony of bullets, blades, blood, and bodies and Reeves and the cast have never been better. While most series have run out of steam by the third film, this series has never been more enjoyable and I cannot wait to see what comes next.

http://sknr.net/2019/05/10/john-wick-chapter-3-parabellum/
  
Captain Marvel (2019)
Captain Marvel (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure
Marvel Studios has once again launched a new franchise within their expansive Marvel Cinematic Universe with the arrival of “Captain Marvel”. The film tells the origin of the title character (Brie Larson), who struggles with gaps in her memory while serving as a Kree Protector under the supervision of Yon-Rogg (Jude Law).

When things do not go as planned during a mission; the good Captain finds herself on Earth forced to wait for her crew to retrieve her. The gaps in her memory combined with the arrival of the shape-shifting Skrulls are bad enough, but now there is also the arrival of S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) for her to contend with.

Being set in the 90s we get a Fury that has yet to be awakened to what is truly out there so he finds the claims of alien beings a bit hard to grasp until fate pairs him with the Captain who must stop the threat posed by the aliens and unlock the mystery of her missing memories.

While the film takes a while to get going; there is enough action scattered throughout to keep your interest and the finale is a rousing FX showcase that really helps establish the character and delivers what fans expect.

Naturally there is a good amount of humor along the way and the dynamic between Larson and Jackson is very good and I hope we get to see them paired on future Marvel adventures.

The supporting cast of Jude Law, Annette Bening, and Ben Mendelsohn is great and it was nice to see many other characters from past Marvel films appear as younger versions of themselves.

The film had to balance establishing the character and setting up further adventures with making sure audiences understood her importance and why her presence in “Avengers: Endgame” is connected and does so very well.

Larson was amazing in the title role as she portrays a strength and confidence without ever being arrogant but there is also a quick wit and at times; a vulnerability that makes her character more well-rounded than people would expect from a comic based film.

It is amazing to me how Marvel Studios can take some of their lesser known characters and turn them into Box Office gold and their winning formula continues with this entertaining new franchise.

http://sknr.net/2019/03/05/captain-marvel/
  
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
2019 | Crime, Drama, Thriller
I didn't think my face could smile for 2 hours and 41 minutes straight!
Guess what? I ventured out on my day off and went to the theatre for the first time in 2019! (I'm such a loser!)

There are so many QT fans out there and probably just as many who think his films are trashy and pointless. As a true film fan, I can't not love not only his unique approach to film-making, but also his appreciation for the art of film and the constant homages he pays to film of year's past.

The first thing to talk about is the film's perfect tone and look of 1969. The costumes, hairstyles and music of the period was right on, but even more than that was the art direction and cinematography. Almost every scene has a vintage movie poster, retro theatre marquee or period television pram playing in the background. This helps you immerse yourself in this cinematic landscape almost immediately.

Can I also say the movie had opening credits! (Bring them back please !?!)

Basically, a Hollywood television/B movie actor and his personal stuntman navigate their Hollywood lifestyles in 1969 amidst the Playboy Mansion and the Charles Manson cult. The roller coaster goes from movie sets to retro Hollywood and everywhere in between. We also meet Sharon Tate. She loves her world of budding stardom and basks in the opportunity to be famous.

QT takes his usual liberties with historical facts, but can't say too much more than that here. If you are used to this in his other films like Inglorious Basterds, it won't bother you here either. He always seems to manage to make every actor look great and brings the best out of them and this film is no exception. Even actors with smaller roles like Al Pacino, Dakota Fanning and Luke Perry shine in their limited screen time.

As usual, his score was playing constantly throughout the film and complemented the situations remarkably well. I am sure I will be downloading some of them for myself later on.

QT has talked about retiring which would be a shame. I have pretty much loved everything he has ever done so losing a truly one of a kind cinematic voice such as his at such a young age would be truly heartbreaking.

  
Show all 8 comments.
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The Marinated Meeple (1853 KP) Jan 9, 2020

I really wish I liked it as much as you do!

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Ryan Olson (1 KP) Jun 25, 2020

One of my favorite movies of 2019. It gets even better on repeated viewings

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Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated The Lion King (2019) in Movies

Jul 19, 2019 (Updated Jul 19, 2019)  
The Lion King (2019)
The Lion King (2019)
2019 | Adventure, Animation, Family
If this is where the monarchy is headed Count me out!
Lion king 2019 is by far the worst of the Disney live action remakes & while newcomers/children will certainly love it many of the people that hold the original close to their hearts will leave wishing they had just stayed home with the far superior predecessor instead. Aladdin & The Lion King are two of the greatest animated feature films of all time & as I experienced them both in cinema on release they are very special to me. Now i loved the Aladdin remake & im not one for comparing these to the animated features but while I was watching this all i could think about was how much better the original is. While it looks absolutely gorgeous (until anything starts to move) the animation at times is so unnatural especially when animals are walking slowly that its constantly distracting & kills the illusion of these creatures being real. Voice work is bland/mediocre & delivered with almost no enthusiasm at all like the cast were more concerned with sounding different to the original than giving the characters charm & personality. Voices also dont feel connected to the characters like your watching a nature documentary thats been dubbed over. While Aladdin did its own thing & changed up the movie Lion King is practically & infuriatingly a scene for scene remake which would be ok if it had the charm, colour, grand scale, imagination, excitement, thrill, humour & emotional impact of the original but it doesnt. Songs are butchered/dull with seemingly no energy or spectacle to them at all feeling significantly toned down/grounded rather than fun & toe tapping (they have also ruined 'Be Prepared'). So whats new? theres new humour & yup you guessed it its really bad with awkward timing & dragged out jokes that just fall flat. I wanted so bad to love this movie but not even a scense of nostalgia kicked in either because the film is just soulless, unenthusiastic, boring, bland, lacking in excitement & magic. Kids will no doubt love it but for me its this years biggest let down. If it were a silent film with an epic score over the top it might of at least been unique/watchable & helped be bearable but as it is I just cant recomend seeing it. A big fat cash grab.
  
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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated The Lion King (2019) in Movies

Jul 24, 2019 (Updated Dec 15, 2019)  
The Lion King (2019)
The Lion King (2019)
2019 | Adventure, Animation, Family
An amazing looking film that unfortunately lacks soul.
I, like many people, consider The Lion King to be one of finest Disney animations of all time. For me, it ranks alongside Mulan as a favourite, and I immediately fell in love with the characters when it was released in 1994. (I was 5 at the time!)
All these years later, and it still stands as a bonafide classic.

And here we are now, in 2019, and this adaption of The Lion King is the latest in an ever growing line of Disney animations to get the realistic remake treatment.
It aims straight for the nostalgic jugular (and is painfully see through), even if the CGI is pretty damn impressive.
However, impressive CGI means nothing if everything surrounding is empty. It's quite simply missing the heart and soul of the original animation.
In a similar fashion to the recent Jungle Book remake, it's no easy task to convey emotion on these characters when they are photo realistic animals, and the film really suffers as a result.
I feel like that casting was a big contributor as well. A lot of the voice cast are quite simply doing voice over work, and it's painfully obvious is some scenes that the actors were not next to each other whilst performing. The dialogue flows unnaturally on several occasions.

The songs are...ok I guess. Again, they lack a lot of of the heart that made them so enjoyable the first time around.
In particular, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is just awful, listening to Beyonce try to out-Beyonce herself, warbling and riffing unessecarily on a pretty straightforward ballad.
Her involvement had me eye rolling actually. As soon as Hakuna Matata is over and Simba is older, it sort of turned into the Beyonce show - I have absolutely nothing against her, I just thought her involvement with The Lion King was a bit overdone and on the nose.

I'm not sure what I really expected but I feel suitably silly for thinking that this was going to be anything more than a blatant cash grab.
The Lion King offers up nothing new, and the argument of "it's bringing the story to a whole new generation" is rendered mute by just watching the easily accessible and miles better original.
  
T.I.M.E by Kelvyn Boy
T.I.M.E by Kelvyn Boy
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
Kelvyn Boy is a fast-rising artist from Accra, Ghana. Not too long ago, he released a music video for his “Mea” single featuring Joey B.

Kelvyn Boy – “Mea” featuring Joey B


“‘Mea’ is a big tune for me and one of the EP’s highlights I’d say. It has a Highlife flair which I love. It came together really quickly in the studio. When I heard my producer playing something he’d been working on, I was like, ‘I love that beat, let’s put some guitar on this and start working on it’. So we put some guitar lines down and I just started to freestyle over the beat. My producer said, ‘Yo we need to record this now!’ So we put down the vocal there and then. I just needed someone who can rap and sing at the same to finish it off, so I had Joey B in mind. We sent him the song and he linked us and the next day we finished it in the studio.” – Kelvyn Boy

‘Mea’ contains a relatable storyline, harmonious vocals, and melodic instrumentation flavored with tropical, afrobeat, and afro-dance elements.


The likable tune tells an interesting tale of a young guy who adores a special woman in his life. Apparently, she’s a boss in the bedroom and she possesses a Coca-Cola shaped body.


‘Mea’ is featured on Kelvyn Boy’s debut EP, entitled, “T.I.M.E”.

Kelvyn – “T.I.M.E” EP


“‘T.I.M.E’, my debut EP, is an abbreviation for The Inspirational Moment Ever. From the production to lyrics, it’s strictly Afro-beats. I wanted to represent this sound and Ghana’s sound to a global market.” – Kelvyn Boy

The 8-track project features Medikal, Joey B, and Stonebwoy. Also, it incorporates other musical genres such as reggae, dancehall, and highlife.
Kelvyn Boy
Kelvyn Boy award photo
In the Summer of 2018, Kelvyn Boy accompanied his mentor Stonebwoy on a 9-city European Tour. They graced stages at Reggae Geel (Belgium), Summer Jam (Germany), Enter The Dancehall (Switzerland) and many more.

Later that year, Kelvyn won the Unsung Artiste of the Year and was later nominated as Best New Artiste of the Year at the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (2019).

This summer, he will embark on a European tour which includes Bomboclat Festival in Belgium (other dates tbc).
  
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
2019 | Drama
The film starts with a perfect homage to Mr Rogers and his show, the miniature city and the gentleness of everything, even without the first hand nostalgic feeling it's a very calm and tranquil moment.

After we get our introduction to Lloyd and find out he works for a magazine we're shown a video about how people make a magazine... I love these videos. I'm amazed that you still see the old 60s/70s ones making the rounds these days.

Our first proper introduction to Mr Rogers comes on set when Lloyd arrives for the interview and find him on set with a child and his parents who have come to visit. It's a charming encapsulation of his character and how he was able to reach out to people who were in need.

Hanks was an amazing choice for this, the calm confident manner is something he seems perfect for. His attention to detail when you see footage side by side is just incredible. I don't know that anyone else in Hollywood would have been good for this role, I'm really glad it was Hanks.

Matthew Rhys playing Lloyd Vogel gets to be a powerful thing in this, for this point I'm not talking about as Lloyd but what he represents to the viewer. A lot of us will get to take the same journey Lloyd goes through in the film, it allows you to fall to Mr Rogers' personality in the same way he does. Rhys makes Lloyd the perfect contrast for Hanks' Rogers, the cynicism, the constant surprise that comes across his face, a great combination.

There are so many touching scenes in A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood and I genuinely smiled a lot and felt like I was staring wide-eyed at the screen. If I was younger, and more limber I think I'd have ended up sitting crosslegged, elbows on knees, resting my head on my hands as I watched.

In a world full of troubles this film is a moment of peace and tranquility. There's no real way to explain how I felt after seeing this. I was definitely moved by it, there was a sense of peace... I can only hope that everyone gets this same sad yet somehow uplifting feeling from it.

Full review originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2019/11/a-beautiful-day-in-neighbourhood-movie.html