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Double Dragon Trilogy
Games
App
A groundbreaking, uber-popular game upon its arcade debut in 1987, Double Dragon is the undisputed...
Warlock's Tower
Games
App
"Playing Warlock's Tower reveals a challenging puzzler that makes the most out of its minimalist...
The World Only Spins Forward: The Ascent of Angels in America
Isaac Butler and Dan Kois
Book
When Tony Kushner's Angels in America hit Broadway in 1993, it won the Pulitzer Prize, swept the...
Jpb (34 KP) rated Malignant (2021) in Movies
Sep 12, 2021
Not your typical Wan
Contains spoilers, click to show
So I went see this , And with it being James Wan I expected a serious supernatural horror so, I started watching it with a mind set it might be a supernatural or entity type movie like the conjuring but I couldn’t of been more wrong. Its different in a good way its on the verge of silly but by damn he made it work. The visuals, the camera angles, the music, the gore its all one fun head fu**ed up ride! The special effects are crazy cool looking and the movie even gives you a hint of nostalgia to all those original horror movies. This movie is an unexpected mind blow I enjoyed every plot twist and hidden joke because there is some comedy in the mix or perhaps its just my dark sense of humor lol. Over all a good movie to watch a refreshing plot line to be honest. James Wan is a master at what he does and once again he delivered.
I came out thinking if this was the late 80s I would of just watched elm street about a serial kill that kills u in your sleep , which was also silly fun and scary. If you want something that pushes the boundaries then this is for you.
I came out thinking if this was the late 80s I would of just watched elm street about a serial kill that kills u in your sleep , which was also silly fun and scary. If you want something that pushes the boundaries then this is for you.
David McK (3372 KP) rated Thor (2011) in Movies
Sep 12, 2021
One of the earliest movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), - I think it's the 4th - way back in Phase 1, with what was seemingly an odd choice of director in our very own (I'm from Northern Ireland, as he is) Kenneth Branagh.
However, you can soon see why he was chosen, with this film - in particular - having a very Shakespearian feel to it, what with the whole plot of two brothers to the throne (as an aside, also the first film to leave Earth for large portions) and the whole familial drama going on ...
I also remember, prior to this, that my whole recollection of the character came from the old 70s/80s 'The Incredible Hulk' tv show and mini movies, where Thor was more-or-less somewhat similar to Jekyll and Hyde, in that he shared a body with the lead character ('who-so-ever be so worthy') of the crippled doctor Donald Blake - a name dropped in this movie as an Easter egg, as Jane Foster's ex boyfriend, and - temporarily - borrowed by this version of Thor.
Unlike many of the later MCU movies, this has a surprisingly small finale, and the scene with Thor breaking into the SHIELD camp in his attempt to recover Mjolnir is still the best bit of the whole thing.
However, you can soon see why he was chosen, with this film - in particular - having a very Shakespearian feel to it, what with the whole plot of two brothers to the throne (as an aside, also the first film to leave Earth for large portions) and the whole familial drama going on ...
I also remember, prior to this, that my whole recollection of the character came from the old 70s/80s 'The Incredible Hulk' tv show and mini movies, where Thor was more-or-less somewhat similar to Jekyll and Hyde, in that he shared a body with the lead character ('who-so-ever be so worthy') of the crippled doctor Donald Blake - a name dropped in this movie as an Easter egg, as Jane Foster's ex boyfriend, and - temporarily - borrowed by this version of Thor.
Unlike many of the later MCU movies, this has a surprisingly small finale, and the scene with Thor breaking into the SHIELD camp in his attempt to recover Mjolnir is still the best bit of the whole thing.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Slumber Party Massacre (2021) in Movies
Mar 22, 2022
This update of the 80s cult favourite hits all the right notes for the first two thirds of its runtime. There's some decent gore, some great shots, and it feels different enough from the original to have its own identity. Most importantly, the core group of characters are likable as hell. The movie takes the time to establish that we are following the story of a group of strong, determined women who ain't taking any shit. The feminist stance is far less subtle than the original, but it absolutely works. The scene wherein the group of men are the subjects of a topless pillow fight is ridiculous and hilarious, and moments like this, combined with the capable main protagonists ensure that it's mostly a blast.
Unfortunately, a lot of this falls apart in the final third. The film makes a shift into full blown, serious slasher territory, and flat out abandons a lot of what made the first hour so entertaining. The smart characters start making dumb decisions, and the narrative plays out in a way that leaves a slightly sour taste in the mouth. It ultimately leads to an underwhelming ending, which is a shame considering how genuinely decent it started out.
However, Slumber Party Massacre is a pretty good time overall, and is a slasher that can stand proudly side by side with the original.
Unfortunately, a lot of this falls apart in the final third. The film makes a shift into full blown, serious slasher territory, and flat out abandons a lot of what made the first hour so entertaining. The smart characters start making dumb decisions, and the narrative plays out in a way that leaves a slightly sour taste in the mouth. It ultimately leads to an underwhelming ending, which is a shame considering how genuinely decent it started out.
However, Slumber Party Massacre is a pretty good time overall, and is a slasher that can stand proudly side by side with the original.
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated The Black Lyon (Montgomery/Taggert, #1) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
The Black Lyon was a nice, fast-paced read with likable main characters. The story moved briskly and had a lot of events happening, but it ended up working. Lyonene was a strong character who had her faults, as was Ranulf, and they were wonderful together. I loved the scenes when they first met and the last half of the book the best. So some of the writing was flowery and maybe a bit dated to when it was written, but I really enjoyed this story and look forward to more in the Montgomery series.
Note: This does contain what today would be considered rape, twice. They're early on, they happen really fast, aren't described in much detail, and the hero doesn't even realize he does it the second time and he does show remorse. Maybe not what 'modern women' would like to see, but I didn't have much of a problem with it, and rape isn't something I take lightly. The heroine doesn't see herself as a victim, but as a wife just doing her duty. Sounds horrible to my 21st Century sensibilities, but somehow it made me not dwell on the rape and move on to the rest of the book. Other authors have done worse in books written in this time period (70s/80s), and having Lyonene react that way added a touch of realism to the Medieval time period.
Note: This does contain what today would be considered rape, twice. They're early on, they happen really fast, aren't described in much detail, and the hero doesn't even realize he does it the second time and he does show remorse. Maybe not what 'modern women' would like to see, but I didn't have much of a problem with it, and rape isn't something I take lightly. The heroine doesn't see herself as a victim, but as a wife just doing her duty. Sounds horrible to my 21st Century sensibilities, but somehow it made me not dwell on the rape and move on to the rest of the book. Other authors have done worse in books written in this time period (70s/80s), and having Lyonene react that way added a touch of realism to the Medieval time period.
FilmIntuition (33 KP) rated Lies You Never Told Me in Books
Jul 20, 2018
A tale of two narratives, in Lies You Never Told Me, debut novelist Jennifer Donaldson deftly flips back and forth between the first person points-of-view of high school students Gabe (in Austin) and Elyse (in Portland).
An addicting work of romantic suspense, although it opens with an air of mystery followed by the bang of a hit-and-run, the book slows down enough to carefully build the characters and effectively develop their alternating storylines to the point that – to the author's credit – there's no easily mistaking one for the other.
Nicely balancing the intrigue of a Gabe chapter with the drama of an Elyse (and vice versa), the book's pace quickens with each chapter to the point that I found myself nearly unable to put it down.
And despite the fact that I was able to piece together precisely how and why the two characters were connected roughly a quarter of the way into the novel, thanks to certain context clues, the book is so well written that I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. Of course, that being said, the less you know going in the better.
Reminiscent of a great character driven '80s thriller from the Hollywood heyday of Fatal Attraction, in spite of a slightly contrived climax, Lies You Never Told Me is a terrific stay up all night summer read you'll definitely want to recommend to a friend.
An addicting work of romantic suspense, although it opens with an air of mystery followed by the bang of a hit-and-run, the book slows down enough to carefully build the characters and effectively develop their alternating storylines to the point that – to the author's credit – there's no easily mistaking one for the other.
Nicely balancing the intrigue of a Gabe chapter with the drama of an Elyse (and vice versa), the book's pace quickens with each chapter to the point that I found myself nearly unable to put it down.
And despite the fact that I was able to piece together precisely how and why the two characters were connected roughly a quarter of the way into the novel, thanks to certain context clues, the book is so well written that I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. Of course, that being said, the less you know going in the better.
Reminiscent of a great character driven '80s thriller from the Hollywood heyday of Fatal Attraction, in spite of a slightly contrived climax, Lies You Never Told Me is a terrific stay up all night summer read you'll definitely want to recommend to a friend.
David McK (3372 KP) rated Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers (Red Dwarf #1) in Books
Jan 28, 2019 (Updated Sep 1, 2019)
Back in the late 80s/early 90s, there was a TV show on British terrestial channles, that gained a bit of a cult following: 'Red Dwarf'.
Set on a 6-mile long mining ship in deep space, the early years of Red Dwarf were centred around the odd-couple pairing of Dave Lister (the last known Human alive, who was in a stasis booth - released thousands of years later - when a radiation leak wiped out the crew of the eponymous ship) and Arnold J Rimmer: a hologram of his dead bunk-mate, and perhaps the most annoying man in existence. Added to this are the ships now-senile computer Holly and the Cat: a creature evolved from a cat that Lister had smuggle aboard (and why he was in the stasis booth in the first place).
To this, and round about season 3 (although he first made an appearance in season 2), was added Kryten: a mechanoid with an overactive guilt chip.
Some novels based on a TV show seem to pretty much just repeat the episode scene for scene; others seem to share nothing in common with hteir source material except the name. This, I felt, falls somewhere in the middle: while certain segments of the novel do indeed follow (very) closely to their source, others only use that as their starting-off point. It aslo does a better job of tying the episodes together than the TV show ever could!
Set on a 6-mile long mining ship in deep space, the early years of Red Dwarf were centred around the odd-couple pairing of Dave Lister (the last known Human alive, who was in a stasis booth - released thousands of years later - when a radiation leak wiped out the crew of the eponymous ship) and Arnold J Rimmer: a hologram of his dead bunk-mate, and perhaps the most annoying man in existence. Added to this are the ships now-senile computer Holly and the Cat: a creature evolved from a cat that Lister had smuggle aboard (and why he was in the stasis booth in the first place).
To this, and round about season 3 (although he first made an appearance in season 2), was added Kryten: a mechanoid with an overactive guilt chip.
Some novels based on a TV show seem to pretty much just repeat the episode scene for scene; others seem to share nothing in common with hteir source material except the name. This, I felt, falls somewhere in the middle: while certain segments of the novel do indeed follow (very) closely to their source, others only use that as their starting-off point. It aslo does a better job of tying the episodes together than the TV show ever could!
David McK (3372 KP) rated Total Eclipse (Weather Warden, #9) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
Back in the late-to-mid 80s, the band R.E.M. sang
'That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes ... It's the end of the world as we know it'
They might as well have been talking about this, the final book in Rachel Caine's <I>Weather Warden</I> series.
Again, picking up directly from the end of the last book, this has Joanne and David still on board the liner sailing home from their showdown with 'bad Bob', and with the 2 lead characters stripped of their powers. Not long before making landfall, however, the Earth starts to wake up and is not best pleased, instigating what basically amounts to Armageddon. The majority of the book deals with the Wardens attempts to placate the Earth and cancel this from happening, with Joanne and David regaining their powers in the process.
I was, I must admit, quite surprised at one point when one of the key characters of the series was called off (just over the 1/2 way mark): I hadn't really seen that coming. However, when they do (finally) make contact with Mother Earth, I found that portion of the plot to be resolved almost too easily, after what had went before.
The series, as a whole, had both it's peaks and troughs: while this entry may not (IMO) live up to some of the previous entries, nor was it the worst of them all.
'That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes ... It's the end of the world as we know it'
They might as well have been talking about this, the final book in Rachel Caine's <I>Weather Warden</I> series.
Again, picking up directly from the end of the last book, this has Joanne and David still on board the liner sailing home from their showdown with 'bad Bob', and with the 2 lead characters stripped of their powers. Not long before making landfall, however, the Earth starts to wake up and is not best pleased, instigating what basically amounts to Armageddon. The majority of the book deals with the Wardens attempts to placate the Earth and cancel this from happening, with Joanne and David regaining their powers in the process.
I was, I must admit, quite surprised at one point when one of the key characters of the series was called off (just over the 1/2 way mark): I hadn't really seen that coming. However, when they do (finally) make contact with Mother Earth, I found that portion of the plot to be resolved almost too easily, after what had went before.
The series, as a whole, had both it's peaks and troughs: while this entry may not (IMO) live up to some of the previous entries, nor was it the worst of them all.