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David McK (3557 KP) rated The City of Shifting Waters (Valérian and Laureline, #1) in Books
Jan 28, 2019
Like many others, I'm sure, I first only heard of Valerian as a result of the absolutely-bonkers 2017 movie 'Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets'.
Reading the interviews with the stars that came out at around about that time, I learnt that Valerian was actually a French comic, and that it had influenced elements of the really-rather-fun Bruce Willis flick 'The Fifth Element'. I caught Valerian when it showed up on Netflix and, while it was OK, it wasn't really anything special.
When I saw this comic given away as a freebie on Comixology, I thought I would give it a try: I don't know what I was expecting (something closer to the movie?), but this most definitely wasn't it!
This is set largely in the (then) future of the mid-80s, where the world is in ruins and New York is about to be swallowed by the ocean. Valerian and Laureline are both time-travelers, who must travel back to this period of their history: a period in which little is known about, a sort-of second Dark Ages.
This comic does show it's age, particularly in it's treatment of Laureline (who doesn't seem to really do all that much) and in Sun Rae: truth be told, it just never really gripped me at all.
Reading the interviews with the stars that came out at around about that time, I learnt that Valerian was actually a French comic, and that it had influenced elements of the really-rather-fun Bruce Willis flick 'The Fifth Element'. I caught Valerian when it showed up on Netflix and, while it was OK, it wasn't really anything special.
When I saw this comic given away as a freebie on Comixology, I thought I would give it a try: I don't know what I was expecting (something closer to the movie?), but this most definitely wasn't it!
This is set largely in the (then) future of the mid-80s, where the world is in ruins and New York is about to be swallowed by the ocean. Valerian and Laureline are both time-travelers, who must travel back to this period of their history: a period in which little is known about, a sort-of second Dark Ages.
This comic does show it's age, particularly in it's treatment of Laureline (who doesn't seem to really do all that much) and in Sun Rae: truth be told, it just never really gripped me at all.
Eleanor (1463 KP) rated Pieces Of Her in Books
Aug 11, 2019
Frustratingly useless lead drags down an interesting thriller
You can always rely on Slaughter to produce a well written book and this is no exception. Unfortunately, she decided to write a totally useless main character whose inability to do anything useful dragged the story down for me.
Andrea (Andy) is a 31 year old still leaving at home and seemingly unable to have a meaningful relationship with anyone. On a trip to the mall, with her seemingly ordinary mum Laura, her world is turned upside down when a violent attack throws her mum into the spotlight. It soon becomes clear that Laura has been hiding a secret past from Andy.
It’s all quite dramatic and I was certainly curious to learn more of Laura’s past it was just a shame that we had to go along with the wet behind the ears Andy to find it out. Most parts from Andy’s perspective left me wanting to shout “get on with it” and despite this perhaps realistic reaction to very unusual circumstances it was just frustrating to read. Other parts of the book were set back in the 80s and were more enjoyable to read.
The story as a whole was interesting if a tad to far fetched given how naive Andy is it didn’t even need to be that off the wall for her to be totally thrown for a loop.
Andrea (Andy) is a 31 year old still leaving at home and seemingly unable to have a meaningful relationship with anyone. On a trip to the mall, with her seemingly ordinary mum Laura, her world is turned upside down when a violent attack throws her mum into the spotlight. It soon becomes clear that Laura has been hiding a secret past from Andy.
It’s all quite dramatic and I was certainly curious to learn more of Laura’s past it was just a shame that we had to go along with the wet behind the ears Andy to find it out. Most parts from Andy’s perspective left me wanting to shout “get on with it” and despite this perhaps realistic reaction to very unusual circumstances it was just frustrating to read. Other parts of the book were set back in the 80s and were more enjoyable to read.
The story as a whole was interesting if a tad to far fetched given how naive Andy is it didn’t even need to be that off the wall for her to be totally thrown for a loop.
Tim McGuire (301 KP) rated Little Monsters (2019) in Movies
Mar 3, 2020
Shes so cute tho...
387. Little Monsters. Nope it's not a remake of the Fred Savage 80s flick. Instead this is the 'Life Is Beautiful' for the zombie genre. And it was pretty sweet! We meet Dave, a down on his luck musician, broke up with the girl, band broke up, has to live with his sister and her young son. (Dave reminded me of a Andy Dwyer type, Park n Rec fans? Anyone, anyone?) To pull his weight around his sisters house, he takes his nephew, Felix, to school, and there he meets and is instantly infatuated with Felix's teacher Miss Caroline, with reason, she's played by Lupita Nyong'o!! One thing leads to another and Dave finds himself as a chaperone for the next field trip to the local zoo, which just happens to be next to a military research facility, which so happens to be suffering from a zombie outbreak at the time. As you may have guessed these zombies find their way to the zoo, and yep hell breaks loose. However, the kiddos are completely oblivious to this thanks to Miss Caroline convincing them its all just a game! It was a very well done comedy zombie flick. Rounding out the cast is Josh Gad playing a kids tv show host, he is great! Worth the watch!! Filmbufftim on FB
JT (287 KP) rated Rim of the World (2019) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
Given the success of Stranger Things it would seem that the mismatched relationship of a group of adolescent teens would make for great viewing. The format has had plenty of success in the past, think The Goonies and Lost Boys, but here it just seems tiresome and flat.
Teens at a summer camp get caught up in an alien invasion which leaves them with the option – whether to save the world or not – they do of course. And so begins a quest to through California to deliver an important piece of information that holds the key to defeating the alien race. Director McG really doesn’t have a grip on this one, relying on toilet humour and a pointless romantic sub plot to carry the film through to its final conclusion.
Makes me want to have kids just so I can insist they don’t watch this
Where the above mentioned films had a real sense of 80s nostalgia and a group of kids who you genuinely had an interest in, Rim of the World feels like an interlude to the next big retro throwback. Picking four stereotypes which pretty much cover off the socially inept and outcast, is almost annoying. Poor jokes and not very good special effects does little to elevate it to a Netflix success.
Teens at a summer camp get caught up in an alien invasion which leaves them with the option – whether to save the world or not – they do of course. And so begins a quest to through California to deliver an important piece of information that holds the key to defeating the alien race. Director McG really doesn’t have a grip on this one, relying on toilet humour and a pointless romantic sub plot to carry the film through to its final conclusion.
Makes me want to have kids just so I can insist they don’t watch this
Where the above mentioned films had a real sense of 80s nostalgia and a group of kids who you genuinely had an interest in, Rim of the World feels like an interlude to the next big retro throwback. Picking four stereotypes which pretty much cover off the socially inept and outcast, is almost annoying. Poor jokes and not very good special effects does little to elevate it to a Netflix success.
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